As reported here, Virginia Democrats called a surprise special session of the legislature to meet in Richmond this week. Doing so just days before an election is unprecedented. The move aims to nullify the constitutional amendment passed by about two-thirds of the state’s voters in 2020 that put redistricting in the hands of a nonpartisan panel.
To show the bipartisan support the current, nonpartisan system has, Sen. Mark Obenshain posted this to his Facebook page on October 28: “The constitutional amendment establishing a bipartisan redistricting commission passed the Senate 40–0, the House 83–11, and was ratified by nearly 66% of Virginia voters.”
But now, just five years later, the Democrats in the General Assembly are seeking to give themselves the power to draw new lines for the state’s eleven Congressional districts.
The lead above image was retweeted on October 26 by Democrat Senator Louise Lucas (Portsmouth). A data scientist wrote, “It’s unlikely that Virginia Democrats would go this far but it’s definitely possible to draw a pretty safe 10–1 map as well.”
As reported here, Attorney General Jason Miyares issued an opinion that the Democrats’ move is illegal. Specifically, a proposed new amendment must be approved by the General Assembly, then there must be an intervening election to give the voters a say in the matter, and then a new General Assembly must approve the proposed amendment again. And since this “special session” began on October 27, it started more than a month after early voting had begun and about a million Virginians have already voted. Thus, as Miyares reasoned, it’s too late for November 2025 to count as “the intervening election.”
Miyares’ statement included: “Allowing an amendment to be proposed and approved while a general election is underway undermines the voice of Virginia voters and violates foundational principles of Virginia constitutional law.”
The Roanoke Star reached out to three local members of the General Assembly representing both parties: Democrat Del. Salam “Sam” Rasoul (Roanoke City) and Republican Senators David Suetterlein and Chris Head. No responses were received from Suetterlein or Rasoul, but Sen. Head, representing the Third Senatorial District, sent this broadside by email:
“This move by Virginia Democrats is a blatant and partisan power grab that seeks to undermine the clear will of the people who voted overwhelmingly to change our method of redistricting and eliminate the possibility of gerrymandering districts. The effectiveness of the way we currently draw our lines is evident by the fact that the partisan split of our Congressional delegation mirrors almost perfectly the split of the vote in the last presidential election. We clearly got it right then. This move, if successful, will most assuredly get it wrong. Further, their actions are not only reckless, but they are also in violation of the laws of the Commonwealth. But apparently, the Democrats in Richmond think laws only apply to them when they want them to. It’s ironic that the same people who would support the “No Kings” movement would attempt such an imperialistic move.”
The Roanoke Star also asked the legislators about Bill HJ6006 this week. There has been some dispute about what it meant, and on social media, some conservative commentators claimed all the state Senate Democrats voted against a measure condemning political violence.
Sen. Head sent this explanation:
“Regarding HJ6006, it was simply the resolution to change the rules for what things could be introduced in this special session. The change as presented and as it passed gave them [Democrat legislators] the ability to then introduce theresolution to amend the Virginia Constitution to allow them to redraw the congressional districts. There were two floor amendments presented by Sen. Mark Peake [R-Lynchburg/Bedford]. The first was to allow resolutions condemning politicians who wish death on children and families of elected officials. The second was to allow resolutions condemning political violence. Both were rejected.
“Sen. Russet Perry [D-Loudoun] voted no on the first one, but filed a statement that she had intended to vote yes. She did vote yes on the second.
“All the other no votes were from the rest of the Senate Democrats, and the floor amendments failed to pass.”
Simply put, Virginia Democrats squashed amendments on statements that until very recently would have received universal acceptance: there should be no place for political violence in the Old Dominion.
The clear and present danger from violence and radicalism is seen from the two attempts on President Trump’s life last year, the assassination of Charlie Kirk in September, and recent threats against the lives of three sitting GOP members of the House of Delegates. The most recent outrage came from 47-year-old Ronald Reynolds of Forest, who sent a text message to Del. Wendell Walker (R-Lynchburg) that Walker was going to “die today.”
Despite many claiming violence comes “from both sides,” these three threats in Virginia were all against Republicans. No Democrats have reported receiving any such threats from the right.
As seen here, Sen. Scott Surovell, in the special session this week, claimed that showing concern about the issue of violence against politicians or their families is “not urgent.”
Also in this week’s special session, Del. Delores Oates (R-Warren Co.) asked to recognize a group of women visitors to the state Capitol, “Moms Saying ‘No To Violence‘ Against Children.” As Del. Oates began her introduction, House Speaker Don Scott banged the gavel and angrily exploded, “The delegate is out of order! Sargent at Arms, the delegate is out of order.” Speaker Scott threatened to have Del. Oates physically expelled from the chamber, but thankfully did not take that extreme step.
The exchange can be seen here from Republican lieutenant governor candidate John Reid’s Twitter/X page.
So, in addition to affordability, taxes, abortion, public safety, biological males in girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms, etc., new election issues include the sudden push for partisan redistricting and the Democrat unwillingness to condemn political violence as reported on here and here.
Want to find your voting place, dates, and hours? Use this state-run, non-partisan website, elections.virginia.gov, to find it.
– Scott Dreyer
