The 2020 Virginia Question 1, also known as the Virginia Redistricting Commission Amendment was a proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution to establish a political commission in order to draw the districts of the U.S House of Representatives seats in Virginia, as well as the districts of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

and

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

. The amendment was on the November 3 ballot. According to a

Christopher Newport University Christopher Newport University (CNU) is a public university in Newport News, Virginia. It was founded in 1960 and is named after Christopher Newport, captain of one of the ships which carried settlers of Jamestown, the first permanent English ...

poll over 70% of Virginians support redistricting reform. The amendment shifted the power of redistricting from the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

to a political commission composed of four members from the

Virginia Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

, with two from each party; four members from the

, with two from each party; and eight other citizens of Virginia. The amendment passed with 65.69% of the vote, winning a majority of support in every county and independent city with the exception of

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

Support

The initiative was supported by Republicans and had the support of the Virginia AARP and ACLU.

Opposition

The initiative was opposed by the state Democratic Party and some elected Democrats on the grounds that it would give inordinate power to the judges tasked with selecting citizens for the commission and that the system would not guarantee the representation of minorities on the commission. In August 2020, Former Virginia Democratic Chairman and candidate for Lieutenant Governor in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

Paul Goldman wrote a letter to the Virginia Department of Elections, arguing the wording of the question was misleading. The Virginia Supreme Court rejected this challenge saying that the Department of Elections must put the question on the ballot with the wording agreed to by the legislature.

Polling

;Question 1

Results

The amendment passed with 65.59% of the vote. Only

Arlington County Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

voted against the amendment.

Notes

References

{{reflist Redistricting commissions Gerrymandering in the United States Question 1 Virginia Question 1 Virginia ballot measures