The redistricting amendment passed in Virginia Tuesday will allow Democrats to pursue redrawn congressional district maps for the 2026 midterm elections.
The Associated Press called the race in favor of the redistricting amendment’s passage at 8:49 p.m. Tuesday. According to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections, more than 1.5 million votes (51.45%) supported the amendment and more than 1.4 million (48.6%) opposed.
Democrat Sandy Marks has claimed victory in the special election for City Council Tuesday, and Alexandrians overwhelmingly voted yes on the redistricting constitutional amendment.
According to unofficial election results, Marks leads with 53.37% of votes over independent candidates Frank Fannon (29.41%) and Alison O’Connell (15.02%), 32 precincts reporting vote tallies. There have been 51,256 ballots cast out of 116,366 registered voters, representing 44% turnout.
More than 42% of registered Alexandria voters have headed to the polls to vote on today’s congressional redistricting referendum and a special election for an open seat on Alexandria City Council.
As of 4 p.m., 19,183 voters cast in-person ballots across the city, in addition to 22,836 mail-in and in-person early ballots, adding up to 42,019 total ballots cast, according to figures released by Angie Maniglia Turner, the city’s general registrar and elections director. Turner said she is expecting gubernatorial-level turnout on the decision to amend Virginia’s Constitution to allow the General Assembly to temporarily redraw congressional maps for the upcoming election and resume the normal redistricting process after the 2030 U.S. Census.
Tuesday, April 21 marks Election Day in Alexandria for a statewide redistricting voter referendum and a special election for a City Council seat.
Candidates in the City Council special election are Democrat Sandy Marks and independent candidates Alison O’Connell and Frank Fannon. Marks is the former chair of the Alexandria Democratic Committee, Fannon is a former Republican member of City Council from 2009 to 2012, and O’Connell is a founding member of Alexandria for Palestinian Human Rights.
Alexandria resident Olivia Troye, once part of the Trump administration, is joining the growing field of Democratic 7th Congressional District candidates running as Virginia voters consider redrawn districts.
Troye is a former career intelligence officer who served as an aide to former Vice President Mike Pence. She made national headlines after resigning from her post at the White House under President Donald Trump in 2020 and is now running as a Democrat in the 7th Congressional District.
Two opposing events will be held in Alexandria this week ahead of the April 21 statewide referendum on redrawing congressional maps.
Virginia Democrats have been pursuing the mid-decade redistricting in response to similar actions in states across the country to gain party control of Congress in November’s midterm elections. A recent Washington Post-Schar School poll shows 52% of likely Virginia voters favoring redistricting. Even if redistricting advances in Alexandria, the city would remain within the 8th Congressional District.
Three weeks before the April 21 special election, more than 9,000 votes have been cast through in-person early voting and mail ballots, according to the Alexandria Office of Voter Registration and Elections.
According to data through Sunday (March 29), 4,245 people have voted early in person. General Registrar Angie Maniglia Turner told ALXnow another 244 early votes were counted through 3:30 p.m. Monday (March 30).
Alexandria City Public Schools is preparing to move hundreds of students and reassign staff as part of its redistricting process beginning in July.
The school system has been working on the transition since the Alexandria City School Board approved the plan last June. On Thursday (March 26), ACPS staff will update the board on the plan, which will shift 860 students to new schools in the coming school year.
Former Alexandria City Councilmember Mo Seifeldein is second to Rep. Don Beyer in fundraising for the Aug. 4 Democratic primary race in the 8th Congressional District.
According to FEC filings through the end of 2025, incumbent Beyer led Democratic candidates with $1.16 million in fundraising. Seifeldein followed with over $117,000. The only other Democratic candidate reporting donations through the end of 2025 is fired State Department worker Michael Duffin, with over $23,000.
Alexandria voters can begin casting early ballots this Friday to participate in the city’s April 21 special election.
This includes the City Council race and a proposed constitutional amendment to redraw Virginia’s congressional maps.
Virginia voters will get to cast ballots on a congressional redistricting plan benefiting Democrats while a court battle plays out over the legality of the effort.
The Virginia Supreme Court said Friday that a statewide referendum can be held April 21 on whether to authorize mid-decade redistricting, and the court will decide sometime later whether the plan is legal.
