The halls of the Virginia General Assembly are abuzz with activity and arguments this week, as state senators and delegates returned for a special session that could reshape the state’s congressional districts.

Lawmakers were called back last week by House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott to continue a 2024 special session left unresolved. The session centers on a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow legislators to redraw district lines in response to changes in other states. 

The amendment would need voter approval in a referendum, which could occur only after votes in two legislative sessions separated by a statewide election. 

The session comes after several Republican-controlled states approved new congressional maps at the urging of President Donald Trump. Other states are considering similar changes. 

“We don’t amend the constitution lightly, we only do that in the most extraordinary circumstances,” Del. Rodney Willett, sponsor of the amendment, said Wednesday during a Privileges and Elections Committee meeting. “And I think those are before us today.” 

Democrats have said redistricting by the General Assembly would be optional, not mandatory, if the amendment is approved, and that the Virginia Redistricting Commission, established in 2020, would continue to operate. They also emphasized the public’s role in deciding whether lawmakers would have this power. 

Republicans in both chambers, meanwhile, have questioned the need for the change, the choice to hold the session during the gubernatorial election, and the legality and impact of introducing and voting on the amendment at this time. 

House and Senate Republicans have filed a lawsuit in Tazewell County Circuit Court seeking to stop the special session. 

“To travel down this tortuous path is to transgress long-standing precedent in Virginia,” Del. R. Lee Ware said during the House meeting Monday. 

Republicans outside the General Assembly also criticized the special session. Gov. Glenn Youngkin voiced his opposition, and Attorney General Jason Miyares questioned the amendment’s legality in an opinion released Tuesday. 

Resolutions related to the amendment and the special session have been approved along party lines by both chambers and the Privileges and Elections Committee since the session began. A vote in the House could come later this week.