Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Elections Redistricting topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
ELECT tells Virginia localities to prepare for April 21 special election on redistricting amendment
Summary
ELECT issued an urgent advisory on Feb. 6 directing local election officials to use specified ballot language, submit ballot proofs, order voter-facing explanatory materials and follow revised absentee instructions ahead of an April 21, 2026 special election on a proposed constitutional amendment about congressional redistricting.
ELECT issued an urgent advisory on Feb. 6 telling all Virginia localities to prepare for a Special Election on April 21, 2026 on a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in upcoming elections.
The advisory says House Bill 1384 passed the 2026 General Assembly and was signed by the governor, placing the proposed amendment before voters. It cites Va. Code § 30-19.9 and instructs local registrars to post the official Proposed Constitutional Amendment Explanation at registration sites and polling places once ELECT posts the approved explanation online.
Local election officials must submit ballot proofs to ELECT using Formsite as soon as possible; the advisory says each locality will have only one ballot style to upload. ELECT provided the exact text jurisdictions must place on ballots: “Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia's standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?” Ballots must present a Yes or No choice and mark the contest as a Special Election issue rather than a candidate contest.
ELECT also directed localities to provide the revised Absentee Ballot Instructions (rev. 2/2026) with all absentee ballots, to order Proposed Constitutional Amendment brochures and posters for registration sites, polling places and early voting sites, and to complete the Direct Delivery Order. The advisory schedules a webinar for Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. for local officials and points jurisdictions to ELECT’s VERIS entry for the Special Election.
The document includes contact paths for technical VERIS issues (submit a JIRA ticket), an elections-administration email (EA@elections.virginia.gov) and regional ELECT contacts for Tidewater, South Central, North Central, South Western, Northern, Western and Southern regions, listing names and phone/email details for Viki Mainwaring, Sarah Baker, Tanya Pruett, Matthew Norcutt and Angie Orange.
The advisory package also contains a 2026 election calendar and deadline information; portions of the calendar text in the available transcript appear duplicated or garbled. Local officials are advised to consult ELECT’s published advisory and the Upcoming Elections page on ELECT’s website for confirmed deadlines and delivery dates.
Next steps: local registrars should upload ballot proofs, order materials if they have not already, provide the revised absentee instructions with absentee ballots, and attend ELECT’s webinar for further guidance.
