RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia's Speaker of the House of Delegates is calling lawmakers back to Richmond to redraw the state's Congressional districts.
Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) sent a letter to lawmakers of both parties Thursday afternoon, saying they will reconvene on Monday under the 2024 Special Session that has not adjourned.
Both chambers of the state legislature are controlled by Democrats by a slim majority. Several other states in the country have redrawn their Congressional maps ahead of next year's midterms to give their party an advantage in more seats.
While the letter does not state what the purpose of the meeting will be, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said in a statement that the session is "to preserve the option to amend the Virginia Constitution to allow a redraw of Virginia’s congressional map to counter Republicans’ gerrymanders in other states."
“House Republicans know they are poised to lose the majority because the public is souring on their failed agenda. Faced with this reality, Republicans are resorting to rigging the midterms by ramming through new, unpopular, gerrymandered maps across the country," stated DCCC Communications Director Courtney Rice. “We are clear-eyed that Democrats cannot unilaterally disarm across the country and must pursue every available tool to counter Republicans’ desperate attempts to steal the midterms. Virginia’s decision to convene and preserve the right to consider a new map in 2026 is critical in the fight to ensure voters have fair representation and we commend them for standing up against Republican attempts to weaken the power, and vote, of the people. From the very beginning of this Republican scheme, the DCCC said we would respond in kind and do everything in our power to fight back and stop Republicans from stealing the majority and subverting the will of the voters. The people’s house should be decided by the people - and that is what Democrats are fighting for across the country.”
In a joint statement, the Republican lawmakers in Virginia's Congressional Delegation called the plan for a special session a "reckless partisan political gerrymandering plan to repeal Virginia’s nonpartisan redistricting system."
“In 2020, Virginians overwhelmingly — nearly two-to-one — expressed their support for an independent redistricting process by establishing the Independent Redistricting Commission. That mandate was designed to take politics out of drawing congressional maps, and reports that Virginia Democrats are seeking to redraw the map mid-decade disregards the will of the people. Virginians deserve a redistricting process anchored in the will of the people, not the ambitions of political insiders. The mandate from 2020 should be honored, not undermined, and Virginians should be the ones to decide how their districts are drawn, not legislators seeking to game the system mid-decade. Virginians elected a government that would respect independent processes and put voters first. If Democrats proceed with a new, politically motivated map, they would be choosing power over the people, betraying the public trust, risking further erosion of faith in our elections, and driving a wedge between Virginians and the democratic process. We call on lawmakers to adhere to the 2020 constitutional amendment and to respect the authority of the Independent Redistricting Commission.”
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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