Virginia

State Redistricting Info Virginia

2021 Virginia Congressional Districts

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2021 Virginia Senate Districts

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2021 Virginia House Districts

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Overview of 2020 Redistricting

Following the 2020 census, Virginia implemented a new redistricting process through a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2020. The amendment established a bipartisan redistricting commission comprising eight lawmakers and eight citizens to draw congressional and state legislative district maps. However, the commission failed to reach consensus on congressional districts by its November 2021 deadline. As a result, the Virginia Supreme Court assumed responsibility, appointing two special masters - one nominated by each party - to draw the map. The court approved the new congressional map on December 28, 2021, and it was used for the 2022 midterm elections. In 2025, a special session was convened, and Democrats in the General Assembly advanced a constitutional amendment for mid-decade redistricting. A Republican-backed lawsuit challenging the legality of that special session was dismissed. A second lawsuit is ongoing, and on January 27, a County Circuit Judge in that case ruled that Democrats in the legislature violated rules when they passed a constitutional amendment on redistricting. This ruling blocks the constitutional amendment from being placed on the ballot in the Spring of 2026. The ruling is under appeal.

The commission also deadlocked on state House and Senate maps, triggering judicial intervention in that process as well. The Virginia Supreme Court again appointed special masters to undertake the redistricting, and on December 28, 2021, it adopted new maps for both legislative chambers. These districts were used for the first time in the 2023 elections. Multiple lawsuits, including Goldman v. Brink and Thomas v. Beals, sought to compel earlier elections or to invalidate the 2021 results held under old (2010 cycle) maps, but federal courts dismissed these challenges for lack of standing.

last updated: Jan 2026

2020 Timeline: Congressional Map

Nov 3 2020	Voters approved a constitutional amendment establishing a bipartisan redistricting commission to draw congressional and legislative maps.
Oct 14–15 2021	The Commission released three proposed congressional maps.
Nov 8 2021	The Commission failed to adopt a final congressional map by the deadline; authority was transferred to the Virginia Supreme Court.
Nov 19 2021	The Virginia Supreme Court appointed Sean Trende and Bernard Grofman as special masters to draw congressional districts.
Dec 7 2021	Draft congressional maps were released by the special masters for public comment.
Dec 28 2021	The Virginia Supreme Court approved the final congressional map for use in the 2022 elections.
Oct 27–31 2025	A Democratic-led legislature passed a constitutional amendment authorizing mid-decade redistricting during a special session. Republican lawmakers filed a lawsuit (Jett v. Nardo) to block the effort on procedural grounds. A second lawsuit (McDougle v. Nardo) seeks to enjoin the constitutional amendment on procedural grounds, asserting that the Speaker of the House lacked constitutional authority to call a special session.
Nov 18 2025	The court formally dismissed the Jett v. Nardo lawsuit at the plaintiff’s request.
Jan 16 2026	The VA General Assembly passes its proposed constitutional amendment for a second time. This allows lawmakers to redraw Virginia’s House map and temporarily bypass the state’s redistricting commission. The amendment will now go before voters in a special election, potentially in April.
Jan 27 2026	A County Circuit Judge in Virginia ruled that Democrats in the legislature violated rules when they passed a constitutional amendment on redistricting. This ruling effectively blocks the Democratic-favored congressional map passed by the legislature last year. Virginia Democrats appealed the judge’s ruling the next day.

2020 Timeline: Legislative Maps

Nov 3 2020	Voters approved a constitutional amendment establishing a bipartisan redistricting commission to draw congressional and legislative maps.
Aug 13 2021	A lawsuit (Adkins v. Virginia Redistricting Commission) was filed to challenge inmate reallocation rules. The Virginia Supreme Court later dismissed the case on Sept. 22, 2021.
Oct 10 2021	The Commission failed to adopt final legislative maps by the deadline; the VA Supreme Court assumed responsibility for map-drawing.
Nov 19 2021	The Virginia Supreme Court appointed Sean Trende and Bernard Grofman as special masters to draw State House and Senate districts.
Dec 7 2021	Draft legislative maps (House and Senate) were released by the court-appointed special masters.
Dec 28 2021	Final legislative maps were approved by the Virginia Supreme Court; new districts to take effect for the 2023 elections.

Who is Responsible for Redistricting in Virginia?

The state legislature has primary responsibility for enacting redistricting maps in Virginia, but not drawing them. On November 3, 2020, Virginia voters approved an amendment to the state constitution, which will create the first Virginia Redistricting Commission. The amendment shifts the responsibility of drawing districts from the General Assembly and the Governor to a 16-member bipartisan commission. Half of the commissioners are members of the General Assembly, and half are residents of the state. The commission is responsible for drawing both congressional and state legislative maps and submitting them to the General Assembly for approval. If the commissioners are unable to agree on the maps by a certain date, or if the General Assembly does not approve the submitted maps by a certain date, the commission is allotted additional time to draw new districts, but if maps are not then submitted or approved, the Supreme Court of Virginia becomes responsible for drawing these districts.

Deadline for Redistricting

The state constitution requires the Virginia legislature to approve congressional and state legislative lines in 2021. The Virginia Redistricting Commission must agree on and present a state legislative district (Senate and House) map to the legislature within 45 days of receiving census data or by July 1st, whichever is later. A congressional map/plan must be approved by the commission within 60 days of receiving the data, or by the later of that date and July 1st.

Commission Failure to Adopt Maps: If the Commission fails to submit a district plan by the deadlines indicated above, it will have fourteen days following its initial failure to submit a plan to the legislature. If the Commission fails to submit a plan by this deadline, the Supreme Court of Virginia shall establish the districts.

Legislative Approval of Maps: The legislature must vote on a redistricting map sent to it by the commission within fifteen days of receipt. The map/plan may not be amended. If the legislature fails to adopt the map by the deadline, the Commission must submit a new map within fourteen days. The legislature has seven days to adopt the alternative commission map(s). If it fails to do so, the Supreme Court of Virginia will finalize the map.

Supermajority Requirement: The Commission must approve a map for submission to the legislature by at least six of the eight legislative members and six of the eight citizen members. The Senate and House maps must be approved by: at least six of the eight legislative members, including at least three of the four legislative members who are members of the Senate (for the Senate map) or the House (for the House map), and at least six of the eight citizen members.

Population and Number of Representatives

State Redistricting Website(s)