Virginia's 3rd Congressional District
A dated list of changes to how Americans vote: district maps, polling places and drop boxes, voting laws and rules, and courts and election officials. Each entry says who did what and when, shows what became of it, and links to the page it rests on. Attempts that failed are listed as failed. Entries that rest on a news report name the outlet.
This is the district view: events tagged to this congressional district, then events that apply across Virginia, then national events. An event is tagged to a district only when its source names that congressional district. See all of Virginia.
In Virginia's 3rd Congressional District
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Across Virginia
1984
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Justice Department objects to a 1984 law on assistance to voters
On August 3, 1984 the Justice Department objected to Chapter 775 of the 1984 Acts of Assembly, relating to assistance to voters. It said Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act gives a voter needing assistance the freedom to choose whom to ask, and that the Supremacy Clause "legally prevents the Attorney General from approving it as a valid voting change under Section 5."
- U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division: Voting Determination Letters for Virginia (index) ↗
- U.S. Department of Justice: Section 5 determination letter, State of Virginia, Chapter 775, August 3, 1984 ↗
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
1982
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Justice Department objects to Chapter 16, the revised 1981 House of Delegates plan
On March 12, 1982 the Justice Department objected to Chapter 16 of the 1981 Acts of Assembly (Special Session), the House of Delegates reapportionment submitted after the July 1981 objection. The letter said it was "unable to conclude" that the plan's treatment of certain areas had no discriminatory purpose or effect, and that the plan satisfied Section 5 in most respects.
- U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division: Voting Determination Letters for Virginia (index) ↗
- U.S. Department of Justice: Section 5 determination letter, State of Virginia, Chapter 16, March 12, 1982 ↗
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
1981
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Justice Department objects to Petersburg-area districts in the 1981 House of Delegates plan
On July 31, 1981 the Justice Department objected to the 1981 House of Delegates plan as it affected district lines in the Southside and Petersburg area. The letter said the plan combined majority-Black counties and the City of Petersburg with majority-white areas, and that the Department was unable to conclude the plan was free of discriminatory purpose or effect there.
- U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division: Voting Determination Letters for Virginia (index) ↗
- U.S. Department of Justice: Section 5 determination letter, State of Virginia, House of Delegates reapportionment, July 31, 1981 ↗
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
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Justice Department objects to Norfolk-area districts in the 1981 Virginia Senate plan
On July 17, 1981 the Justice Department did not object to the 1981 Senate plan except for districts 5 and 6. It said the boundary between them cut through the Black community in Norfolk so that neither district had more than a 37 percent Black population, and that the Commonwealth had "presented no plausible non-racial justification" for the lines.
- U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division: Voting Determination Letters for Virginia (index) ↗
- U.S. Department of Justice: Section 5 determination letter, State of Virginia, Senate reapportionment, July 17, 1981 ↗
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
Nationwide
1986
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Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act becomes law
Public Law 99-410, dated August 28, 1986, may be cited as the "Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act." Its subject is voting in federal elections by members of the uniformed services and by citizens living overseas.
Source last checked Oct 29, 2026
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Supreme Court decides Thornburg v. Gingles
On June 30, 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court decided its first case under the 1982 version of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The syllabus says minority voters who contend that a multimember form of districting violates Section 2 "must prove that the use of a multimember electoral structure operates to minimize or cancel out their ability to elect their preferred candidates."
Source last checked Oct 23, 2026
1984
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Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act becomes law
Public Law 98-435, dated September 28, 1984, is titled "To improve access for handicapped and elderly individuals to registration facilities and polling places for Federal elections."
Source last checked Oct 22, 2026
1982
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Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1982 become law
Public Law 97-205, dated June 29, 1982, rewrote Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to bar any practice "imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision in a manner which results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color." It also provided that a section 4 provision expires "at the end of the twenty-five-year period following the effective date" of the 1982 amendments.
Source last checked Oct 29, 2026
1980
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Supreme Court decides City of Mobile v. Bolden
On April 22, 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a lower-court ruling against Mobile, Alabama's at-large election system. Four Justices concluded that "Racially discriminatory motivation is a necessary ingredient of a Fifteenth Amendment violation." Congress amended Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in 1982.
Source last checked Oct 23, 2026
How this timeline is built
Every entry rests on at least one source that was opened and read, and that source states the date and the fact. Courts, legislatures, election offices, the Justice Department, the Census Bureau, the Federal Register and Congress.gov come first. A news report is used only when no official page states the fact, and it is labeled with the outlet's name. Encyclopedias are not used as sources. History starts in 1965 with the Voting Rights Act. County names come from the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer. Congressional district numbers are those in use for the 2026 election; an event is tagged to a district only when its source names that congressional district.
When a later event changes an earlier one, such as a law later struck down, both entries are listed and point to each other. This page does not predict outcomes or say which party a change helps. U.S. House maps for 2026 · Back to the 2026 voting center.