2040 Southwest Virginia referendum



The 2040 Southwest Virginia referendum was a referendum held on November 6, 2040 in Giles, Pulaski, Carroll, Grayson, Wythe, Bland, Tazewell, Smyth, Washington, Russell, Buchanan, Dickenson, Wise, Scott and Lee counties in Virginia, plus the independent cities of Radford, Galax, Bristol and Norton, about whether the region should have stayed part of the Commonwealth of Virginia or been annexed into the state of West Virginia. The region narrowly voted to join West Virginia, which was widely attributed to its increasing cultural and political differences with the more urban and affluent northern and southeastern areas of Virginia. This part of Virginia officially joined the state of West Virginia on 1 January 2041, adding approximately 450,000 people to West Virginia's population and transferring one congressional district from Virginia to West Virginia.