RICHMOND, Va. - The Virginia Supreme Court has thrown out a Democrat-led effort to redraw the Commonwealth’s US House map ahead of the 2026 midterm election.
In April, Virginia voters narrowly approved a constitutional amendment shifting congressional redistricting authority from a bipartisan commission to the Democratic-controlled General Assembly for mid-decade congressional redistricting. The proposed map would have given Democrats an advantage in as many as 10 of Virginia’s 11 districts, including District 2 which encompasses Accomack and Northampton Counties.
The results of that referendum faced immediate legal challenges, and Virginia’s highest court previously declined to lift a lower court’s injunction blocking the certification of the referendum results.
On Friday, May 8, the Virginia’s Supreme Court issued a 46-page opinion saying that the legislative process used to advance the proposed constitutional amendment violated the Constitution of Virginia. The results of the referendum, according to the Supreme Court, were therefore nullified.
“In this case, the Commonwealth submitted a proposed constitutional amendment to Virginia voters in an unprecedented manner that violated the intervening-election requirement in Article XII, Section 1 of the Constitution of Virginia,” Justice D. Arthur Kelsey wrote in the majority opinion. “This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void. For this reason, the congressional district maps issued by this Court in 2021 pursuant to Article II, Section 6-A of the Constitution of Virginia remain the governing maps for the upcoming 2026 congressional elections.”
The court ruled to overturn the referendum in a 4-3 decision.
In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones expressed frustration and pointed to political motivations.
"Today the Supreme Court of Virginia has chosen to put politics over the rule of law by issuing a ruling that overturns the April 21st special election on redistricting,” Jones said. “This decision silences the voices of the millions of Virginians who cast their ballots in every corner of the Commonwealth, and it fuels the growing fears across our nation about the state of our democracy.”
“The Republican-led majority of the Supreme Court of Virginia contorted the plain language of the Constitution and Code of Virginia to give it a meaning that was never intended, which allowed them to reach the wrong legal conclusion that fit their political agenda. The consequences of their error are grave,” Jones continued.
The Attorney General said his team was reviewing the “unprecedented” order and weighing further legal avenues.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger also voiced her disapproval with the court's ruling on Friday, arguing the majority of Virgnia's voters had supported the measure to temporarily redistrict.
“I am disappointed by the Supreme Court of Virginia’s ruling, but my focus as Governor will be on ensuring that all voters have the information necessary to make their voices heard this November in the midterm elections because in those elections we — the voters — will have the final say,” Gov. Spanberger said.
