November 3, 2020 | ||||||||||||||||
Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to establish a redistricting commission, consisting of eight members of the General Assembly and eight citizens of the Commonwealth, that is responsible for drawing the congressional and state legislative districts that will be subsequently voted on, but not changed by, the General Assembly and enacted without the Governor's involvement and to give the responsibility of drawing districts to the Supreme Court of Virginia if the redistricting commission fails to draw districts or the General Assembly fails to enact districts by certain deadlines? | ||||||||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||
 County and independent city results Yes—80–90% Yes—70–80% Yes—60–70% Yes—50–60% No—50–60% | ||||||||||||||||
| Source:Virginia Department of Elections[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||
The2020 Virginia Question 1, also known as theVirginia Redistricting Commission Amendment was a proposed amendment to theVirginia Constitution to establish apolitical commission in order to draw the districts of theU.S House of Representatives seats in Virginia, as well as the districts of theVirginia House of Delegates andState Senate.[3] The amendment was on the November 3 ballot.[4] According to aChristopher Newport University poll over 70% of Virginians supportredistricting reform. The amendment shifted the power of redistricting from theVirginia General Assembly to a political commission composed of four members from theVirginia Senate, with two from each party; four members from theVirginia House of Delegates, with two from each party; and eight other citizens of Virginia.[5] The amendment passed with 65.69% of the vote, winning a majority of support in every county and independent city with the exception ofArlington County, Virginia.[1]
The initiative was supported by Republicans and had the support of the Virginia AARP and ACLU.[6]
The initiative was opposed by the state Democratic Party[7] and some elected Democrats[6] 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.[8][9] In August 2020, Former Virginia Democratic Chairman and candidate for Lieutenant Governor in2021Paul Goldman wrote a letter to the Virginia Department of Elections, arguing the wording of the question was misleading.[10] 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.[11]
Question 1
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Yes (for the amendment) | No (against the amendment) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roanoke College[12] | October 23–29, 2020 | 802 (LV) | ± 3.4% | 48% | 26% | 3%[b] | 4% |
| Christopher Newport University[13] | October 15–27, 2020 | 908 (LV) | ± 3.4% | 54% | 24% | – | 22% |
| Civiqs/Daily Kos[14] | October 11–14, 2020 | 1,231 (LV) | ± 3.1% | 48% | 30% | – | 22% |
| Christopher Newport University[15] | September 9–21, 2020 | 796 (LV) | ± 3.9% | 48% | 28% | – | 24% |
The amendment passed with 65.59% of the vote. OnlyArlington County voted against the amendment.[1]
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 Yes | 2,770,704 | 65.69 |
| No | 1,447,390 | 34.31 |
| Total votes | 4,218,094 | 100.00 |