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The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday blocked a new Democratic-drawn congressional map from taking effect, delivering a major boost for Republicans as they defend their narrow House majority in the midterm elections.
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Weeks after voters narrowly approved the plan in a statewide referendum, the court ruled that Democratic lawmakers did not meet the procedural requirements to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot, which was written to pave the way for the redrawn district lines. Democrats were seeking a map designed to give the party up to four new House seats.
This ruling — coupled with Republican redistricting efforts in other states in the last year and the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning racial gerrymandering regulations in the Voting Rights Act — means that Republicans will head into the midterms with a clear redistricting advantage.
The Virginia court concluded that the state Legislature began their constitutional amendment process too late to be lawful.
“This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void,” the court wrote in their order.
Lawmakers must pass a constitutional amendment through two consecutive legislative sessions with an election in between before placing it on the ballot. Republicans argued that the Democratic-controlled Legislature first passed the amendment when early voting was already underway ahead of Virginia’s 2025 statewide elections. Democrats tried to counter by saying that Election Day itself, not the start of early voting, is the relevant date.
The state Supreme Court had previously allowed the April special election to go forward, while reserving the right to rule on the measure’s legality later on. Virginians narrowly voted in favor of the redistricting referendum by 3 points.
Virginia Democrats kick-started their multi-step redistricting process last fall in response to President Donald Trump urging several GOP-led states to redraw their maps ahead of the battle for the narrow House majority. They needed to amend the constitution to bypass a bipartisan redistricting commission, which was approved by voters in 2020, to pass the gerrymandered map proposal. California Democrats took a similar route to enacting a new map last year that could net the party up to five seats.
This fall’s midterm elections in Virginia will take place under the current map, where Democrats represent six of the state’s 11 congressional districts.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
