Virginia Redistricting Fight Moves To The U.S. Supreme Court
Democrats on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stop a Virginia ruling that invalidated a ballot measure tied to the state’s new congressional districts.
The emergency appeal came after the Virginia Supreme Court struck down a constitutional amendment that voters narrowly approved last month. The amendment would have created a congressional map that gave Democrats four additional winnable U.S. House seats.
In a 4 to 3 decision Friday, the state court found that Virginia’s Democratic controlled legislature improperly began the process of placing the amendment on the ballot after early voting had already started in the state’s general election last fall.
Democrats argued that the U.S. Supreme Court has previously held that even when early voting is underway, an election does not take place until Election Day itself. That argument was rejected by the Virginia Supreme Court.
Democrats Say The Ruling Blocks The Will Of Voters
Lawyers for Virginia Democrats and Democratic Attorney General Jay Jones argued in their filing that the state court decision overturned the result of a voter approved amendment.
“The Court overrode the will of the people who ratified the amendment by ordering the Commonwealth to conduct its election with the congressional districts that the people rejected,” the lawyers wrote.
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They added, “The irreparable harm resulting from the Supreme Court of Virginia’s decision is profound and immediate.”
The appeal is a legal long shot. The U.S. Supreme Court typically avoids second guessing state courts when they interpret their own state constitutions. In 2023, the justices declined a request from North Carolina Republicans to overturn a state Supreme Court decision blocking a GOP congressional map.
Mid Decade Redistricting Fight Shapes 2026 House Battle
The Virginia case is part of a larger national redistricting fight unfolding before the 2026 elections.
The mid decade redistricting push began last year after President Donald Trump urged Republican controlled states to redraw congressional lines. It intensified after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling weakened the Voting Rights Act, giving Southern states more room to eliminate some majority Black districts.
Democrats are still favored to retake the U.S. House, but Republicans have claimed gains of more than a dozen seats through redistricting. The Virginia map would have helped Democrats partly offset those GOP gains.
The Virginia amendment was launched before the latest Voting Rights Act ruling. It was intended as a response to Republican map changes in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, along with a new Florida map that recently became law.
After Virginia voters approved the amendment, the nationwide redistricting fight briefly appeared more balanced between the two parties. That changed after the Virginia Supreme Court struck the amendment down.
State Court Decision Leaves Congressional Map In Place
The Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling means the state would move forward with the congressional districts that were in place before voters approved the amendment.
The state justices are appointed by Virginia’s legislature, which has shifted between Democratic and Republican control over the years. The court is not generally viewed as having a clear ideological majority.
Democrats are now asking the nation’s highest court to intervene quickly, arguing that the ruling could directly affect the balance of power in Congress after the November elections.
