How Richmonders can vote in Tuesday’s special election on redistricting
The redistricting ads are almost over.
On Tuesday, voters in Richmond and across Virginia will head to the polls in an unusual April special election to decide whether the state should redraw its congressional districts in a way that would tilt the map in favor of Democratic candidates.
Richmond’s regular polling places will be open Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Because many polling locations are in school buildings, Tuesday will be a virtual learning day for Richmond Public Schools.
The high-stakes redistricting battle — which could impact partisan control of the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2026 midterm elections — has seen huge amounts of largely untraceable money put behind ads and mailers attempting to sway how Virginians vote on the yes-or-no ballot question.
If the measure passes, a new congressional map would take effect that splits the city across two congressional districts and makes other substantial changes in the Richmond suburbs. The proposed districts would put GOP Reps. Rob Wittman and John McGuire in serious danger of losing their seats to Democratic challengers.
At the state level, the pending map could dramatically alter the partisan makeup of Virginia’s 11-member delegation representing Virginia in the U.S. House, potentially dropping the number of Republicans representing from five to one. That scenario would give Democrats 10 of 11 seats, leaving a Southwest Virginia-based district as the only seat held by a Republican.
Democrats in favor of the redistricting plan have argued it’s necessary to tilt the partisan balance in Virginia to respond to Republican-led states that have heeded President Donald Trump’s call to try to carve out more GOP-friendly seats. Maximizing Democratic representation in Virginia, redistricting supporters say, is an opportunity to keep the Trump administration in check.
Republicans opposing the measure say it would bring extreme partisan gerrymandering back to Virginia just five years after Virginians voted to do away with gerrymandering by creating a bipartisan redistricting commission. Though Democrats have characterized the proposed redistricting as temporary, critics have cast doubt on that assertion, arguing the measure erodes the state’s newly enacted anti-gerrymandering reforms by setting a precedent that the party in power can suspend the normal rules.
Because voters amended the Virginia Constitution in 2020 to take away the General Assembly’s redistricting power, Virginians are now being asked to change the Constitution again to temporarily restore the legislature’s power to draw maps.
The redistricting plan has faced several legal challenges, and the Supreme Court of Virginia has signaled it will rule on the legality of Tuesday’s election after the election takes place. That creates the possibility that even if voters pass the measure, the state’s highest court could still strike it down.
Because of the unusual timing, some Richmond voters won’t be casting a ballot at their usual polling place, according to the city election office.
Voters in the Northside’s Precinct 307, who usually go to Ginter Park Presbyterian Church, will instead vote at the MAPS Global headquarters at 3121 Moss Side Ave.
Residents of the Fan District’s Precinct 206 will cast ballots at the VCU Student Commons instead of the VCU Institute for Contemporary Art.
Voters can check their registration status and look up their polling place by using the citizen portal offered by the Virginia Department of Elections.
The text of the ballot question and an explanation of what it does can be found on the city’s elections website.
Voters are asked to verify their identity before casting a ballot, and can offer one of several types of valid identification such as a valid Virginia driver’s license, student ID or passport.
Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at gmoomaw@richmonder.org
