“The real solution remains a nationwide ban on partisan gerrymandering — applied equally across all 50 states. We will keep fighting for that reform in Congress. But until Republicans are willing to join that effort, states cannot be expected to sit idly by while the rules are manipulated elsewhere. That is why we support a Yes vote on the upcoming Virginia referendum,” the six Democrats wrote.

In an April 21 special election, voters will decide whether to grant the Democratic-controlled state legislature the power temporarily to draw the congressional map, rather than the constitutionally mandated independent commission. If voters affirm and the plan wins in the state court system, the state General Assembly can install its already-passed map for the 2026 midterm elections. Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) signed her approval of the proposed map on Friday.

“In a moment when the president himself is urging states to tilt the scales before voters ever cast a ballot, the people of this Commonwealth still have the power to decide for themselves. That is a principle as old as Virginia itself — that government derives its legitimacy from the consent of the governed, and that voters, not politicians, should have the final say,” the House Democrats wrote.

Democrats across the country have marketed their mid-decade redistricting push as a response to Republican plans in red states such as Texas. Redistricting battles ahead of the 2026 elections have now reached over a dozen states, with several pending court battles.

Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), who joined the Republican National Committee in filing a lawsuit against the Virginia redistricting move, bashed his Democratic counterparts’ move on Thursday.

“Not shocking! Democrats supporting Democrats publicly, no matter what they may think privately,” Griffith told the Washington Examiner.

DEMOCRATS’ NEW AFFORDABILITY CHAMPION SPANBERGER HAS NO RECORD OF CUTTING COSTS YET

Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Jeff Ryer slammed the Democrats’ redistricting move in a Thursday statement as a deceitful play with the goal “to make Virginia Republicans irrelevant.”

“Virginia Democrats are attempting to rewrite the rules in the middle of the game to entrench themselves in power. They are dishonestly and deceptively claiming that their scheme is about ‘fairness,’ when in reality it is specifically designed to disenfranchise nearly every Virginian who voted for President Trump,” Ryer said.