Virginia House Democrats are taking full advantage of their broad new legislative majority, wasting no time pushing through four constitutional amendments on the opening day of the 2026 General Assembly, Wednesday.
After winning total control of the legislature and governorship in November, Democrats planned on advancing policies that would enshrine a “right to abortion” into the Virginia Constitution, repeal the constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage, automatically grant voting rights to convicted felons, and redistrict congressional maps.
How Constitutional Amendments Work in Virginia
To pass a constitutional amendment in Virginia, a proposed change must be approved in both the House and Senate in one legislative session and then be passed again by both houses in the next General Assembly session or after the general election.
The abortion amendment already passed in the previous session in January 2025, so it’s already on track to become official. If it passes the state senate, then it would only need to be placed on a state referendum where Virginia voters would make the final decision at the ballot box.
Wednesday marked the first day of Virginia’s 60-day legislative session. House Joint Resolution 1, or the amendment to enshrine abortion rights, passed the House 64-34.
The measure would create a “fundamental right” to get an abortion and would protect anyone who commits an abortion on behalf of a woman.
As CBN News has reported, under the current law, abortions are already legal through the second trimester. However, the new measure would codify abortion into state law and allow for the lives of unborn babies to be taken during the third trimester, in a number of cases.
It would allow abortion in the third trimester to “protect the life or physical or mental health” of the mother. The Arlington Catholic Herald further explains, “It would also reduce the number of doctors required to approve a third-trimester abortion from three to one.”
Meanwhile, HJ3, which would protect same-sex marriage in the Commonwealth, passed the House 67-31.
Virginia Attorney Tim Anderson noted in a video posted to Facebook that not only will the language in the state’s constitution be repealed, but it will also add gender as a protective class. Anderson says it could “create a real nightmare in Virginia.”
“While many Virginians support gay marriage, the inclusion of the word ‘gender’ as a protected class has caused chaos in many states,” he explained. “In states where you have a son, and he says, ‘Dad, you’re going to call me Sarah.’ And you’re like,’the h*** I am. ‘ Then CPS (child protective services) can come and take their kids. And they have done that.”
HJ2, which looks to restore voting rights to all convicted felons who complete their sentences and other court requirements, passed the House 65-33. Anderson says that while he supports restoring voter rights for felons, Democrats are “manipulating who can vote as a mentally disabled person.”
He explained that in cases where someone has a guardian appointed to them because, for example, they don’t know their name or their children’s name, then it removes their right to vote.
Under the Democrats’ amendment, if someone’s rights have been taken away, they can still vote.
“That’s going to allow people in the nursing homes to request absentee ballots and let people vote for them,” he said. “It’s going to cause a lot of chaos there.”
All three of those amendments are awaiting a full Senate vote, and the final decision will be made by voters in the November elections.
The final proposed amendment, HJ4, would allow Democrats to redraw congressional maps and would be on a special election ballot in April. This particular move is stirring up controversy among Democrats and Republicans because Virginia redrew the map almost five years ago.
Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, chair of the House Privileges and Elections Committee, explained during a news conference Wednesday morning that redistricting changes could be implemented as soon as November.
“And then we are looking at a special election for a statewide referendum to have the voters have their say in potentially April. And then once that kicks in, if the voters were to give us that power, we would then be looking at a modified schedule for the primaries, and then our November elections will happen as scheduled,” she said.
Republicans warn the move will create dramatic changes in Virginia’s U.S. congressional delegation. According to the Virginia Mercury, under the proposed amendments, Democrats have discussed drawing a map that would give them as many as 10 Democratic-leaning districts, leaving only one Republican seat in Southwest Virginia.
“We’re not a 10-1 state, we’re not a 9-2 state,” House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, told reporters Wednesday morning. “We’re a close, 6-5 state, and some of those congressional seats are very competitive.”
