Democrats have filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to halt a redistricting rule by Virginia’s top court. The state court had invalidated a ballot measure that would have given Virginia Democrats an additional four winnable U.S. House seats. Virginia voters narrowly approved a constitutional amendment last month that let Democrats redraw political lines in time for the November elections. That move was in response to mid-decade redistricting in Republican states pressured by President Donald Trump. The appeal is a long shot because the Supreme Court tries to avoid second-guessing how state courts interpret their state constitutions.

  • Updated

A poster on the Virginia redistricting referendum is seen during voting at Mason Square, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Alexandria, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)