Tipsheet

Miyares Torpedoes Democrats’ Virginia Power Grab, Says Redistricting Is Unconstitutional

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  October 28, 2025 1:15 PM

Last week, Virginia Democrats revealed their plan to override the rule of law and democracy and redistrict the state. Such a move would cement a permanent Democratic majority and disenfranchise the 45+ percent of Virginians who vote for Republicans. 

At the time, Ken Cuccinelli, former Virginia Attorney General, issued a statement to Townhall and noted, "The requirement for an intervening election is rather obviously in place for accountability to the voters. Virginia’s election began a month ago, so the next intervening election that could fulfill the requirement necessary for amending the Virginia constitution is the 2027 election."

Now, Virginia's current Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares is pushing back, saying the same thing: the Democrats' redistricting scheme is invalid because the 2025 election is already underway.

In a lengthy letter addressed to Delegate Terry G. Kilgore, Miyares wrote in part:

The Constitution of Virginia is built on the foundation that "all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people," and it therefore ensures that elected officials remain accountable and "at all times amenable to [the people]."21 The conclusion of this Opinion promotes accountability to the people, for prior to casting their votes in the election, the voters will be able to review incumbent delegates' votes on any proposed amendments, which Article XII requires to be recorded by name.22 Although not dispositive, statements made during the debates on the current Constitution support this view. As explained by one Senator, "[t]he people elect the members of the General Assembly. Section 1 of [Article XII] provides, as do the provisions of the current Constitution, that an election must intervene before the General Assembly can act again."23 As stated by a member of the House of Delegates, the mandated intervening election serves to "get the sentiment of the people on an amendment [the delegates] had acted on previously."24 

Virginia law explicitly expresses this underlying policy elsewhere; by statute, circuit court clerks must post notice of any proposed amendment "not later than three months prior to the next ensuing general election of members of the House of Delegates."25 Allowing an amendment proposed while a general election is underway to be referred for consideration during the following regular session, here the 2026 regular session, undermines the voice of Virginia voters in the amendment process and violates foundational principles of Virginia constitutional law.26 The current 2025 general election, therefore, cannot serve as the constitutionally required intervening election for any constitutional amendments proposed after September 19, 2025.

As Townhall reported last week, this is exactly the one law that could thwart the Democratic Party's power grab in the state.

The post reads:

Early voting began in September. Hundreds of thousands of ballots have already been cast. With an election currently underway, one could argue that Democrats have missed the deadline to pass a constitutional amendment prior to “the next general election” as the general election began on September 19.

We need @JasonMiyaresVA to win this race for Attorney General so he can immediately sue the Democrats in the General Assembly on the grounds that this power grab is unconstitutional.

This will undoubtedly lead to a legal battle in court.

They cannot. The Virginia Constitution and law are clear: redistricting cannot happen now that the 2025 general election is underway.