The Virginia Supreme Court issued a high-stakes ruling Friday that struck down a voter-approved congressional redistricting plan, a move that significantly hampers Democratic efforts to gain ground in the upcoming midterm elections.
In a unanimous opinion, the state’s highest court determined that the Democratic-led General Assembly bypassed essential procedural requirements when it placed the constitutional amendment for mid-decade redistricting on the ballot.
The court’s decision effectively wipes out the results of the April 21 referendum, which voters had narrowly approved. “This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void,” the court stated.
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The legal battle did not center on the actual lines of the new districts, but rather on whether the legislature followed the strict timeline required to change the state constitution.
Under the tossed-out map, Democrats had hoped to secure as many as four additional U.S. House seats. The plan would have leveraged the party’s strength in northern Virginia and shifted boundaries in Richmond and Hampton Roads to dilute conservative voting blocs.
Currently, the state’s delegation is split between six Democrats and five Republicans, based on a map previously implemented by a court after a bipartisan commission reached a deadlock.
The procedural failure stemmed from the timing of the legislature’s votes. To amend the constitution, Virginia law requires a resolution to pass in two separate legislative sessions with a general election held between them. The General Assembly first approved the amendment last October.
However, because early voting for the general election was already underway at that time, the court agreed with plaintiffs that the first vote happened during—rather than before—the election cycle.
Thomas McCarthy, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, successfully argued that the legal definition of an “election” includes the entire period when ballots are cast, which spans several weeks in Virginia.
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While Matthew Seligman, representing the legislature, argued that “election” should only refer to the final Tuesday in November, the justices ultimately sided with the broader interpretation. This ruling upholds a previous decision by a Tazewell County circuit judge who found that lawmakers failed to follow their own rules and missed a mandatory three-month public notice deadline.
This development leaves Virginia’s congressional boundaries in limbo as both parties navigate a nationwide scramble over redistricting.
While states like Texas and Florida have moved to redraw maps to favor Republicans, and California and Utah have seen shifts benefiting Democrats, the Virginia ruling removes a key piece of the Democratic strategy to offset GOP gains elsewhere.
For now, the existing court-ordered map remains the standard for the upcoming midterms.
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