Roughly 37% Arlington voters have cast ballots in the statewide redistricting referendum as of this afternoon.
About 14% of voters visited a polling place as of 1:30 p.m., while 23% of local voters cast ballots early, according to the latest numbers from Arlington’s elections office.
Both of those numbers are down from the last statewide vote in November, when seats for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and all state delegates were on the ballot. During that election, 26% of Arlington voters cast ballots early and 18% had voted in-person by 1:30 p.m. on Election Day.
Polls are open until 7 p.m.
A total of 1.37 million Virginians cast early ballots in this referendum, down about 8% from 1.49 million in November.
While early voting in the special election was down in Northern Virginia and other large population centers around Hampton Roads and Richmond, it was up in many rural counties, especially in Western and Southwest Virginia. The greatest percentage changes were in sparsely populated Lee and Scott counties in the far southwest corner of the commonwealth, which cast over 40% more early ballots than in 2025, according to data from the Virginia Public Access Project.
The Arlington County Democratic Committee — which has been strongly in support of redrawing Virginia’s congressional maps to favor Democrats — has had a large presence around polling places today, with volunteer coverage at all 54 precincts “during core hours,” spokesperson Owen Williams told ARLnow.
The local GOP, meanwhile, has focused most of its volunteers today on personally contacting Republicans who haven’t voted yet, Arlington Republicans Chair Matthew Hurtt told ARLnow.
The proposed constitutional amendment backed by Democratic officials would bypass the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission to allow use of new congressional districts approved by state lawmakers in this year’s midterm elections.
The referendum, which needs a simple majority to pass, tests Democrats’ ability to push back against President Donald Trump, who started a gerrymandering competition between states after successfully urging Texas Republicans to redraw congressional districts in their favor last year. The Texas gambit led to a burst of redistricting nationwide. So far, Republicans believe they can win up to nine more House seats in newly redrawn districts in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio.
Democrats think they can win up to five more seats in California, where voters approved a mid-decade redistricting effort last November, and one more seat under new court-imposed districts in Utah. Democrats hope to offset the rest of that gap in Virginia, where they decisively flipped 13 seats in the state House and won back the governor’s office last year.
Leaders of both major parties see the vote as crucial to their chances to win a House majority in the fall. Trump weighed in via social media this morning, telling Virginians to “vote ‘no’ to save your country!”
Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, rallied with opponents of the measure last night, calling the redistricting plan “dishonest” and “brazenly deceptive.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters at the Capitol earlier in the day that a vote to approve the redraw “will serve as a check and balance on this out-of-control Trump administration.”
The back-and-forth battle over congressional districts is expected to continue in Florida, where the Republican-led legislature is scheduled to convene April 28 for a special session that could result in a more favorable map for Republicans.
Even if Democrats are successful today, the public vote may not be the final word. The state Supreme Court is considering whether the redistricting plan is illegal in a case that could make the referendum results meaningless.
Both Arlington Democrats and Arlington Republicans are planning watch parties this evening.
