Supreme Court of Virginia strikes down redistricting plan

RICHMOND, Va. - A divided Supreme Court of Virginia ruled Friday to overturn the results of April's redistricting referendum, where Virginians voted to adopt a constitutional amendment that would allow the state legislature to redraw congressional maps mid-decade.

The new maps would have favored Democrats in 10 out of Virginia's 11 congressional districts. Friday's ruling means the current maps, which favor Democrats in six districts, will almost certainly be used in the November midterms.

The ruling was a 4-3 split. In a 30-page opinion issued Friday, the court found "that the legislative process employed to advance this proposal violated" the state's constitution.

"This constitutional violation incurably taints the resulting referendum vote and nullifies its legal efficacy," wrote Justice D. Arthur Kelsey in the opinion for the majority.

Chief Justice Cleo E. Powell, Justice Thomas P. Mann, and Justice Junius P. Fulton, III dissented

Republicans celebrated their victory Friday.

"The rule of law requires that Virginians have an opportunity to review a Constitutional Amendment before they vote for the House of Delegates in a meaningful way," said House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore in a statement. "You cannot violate the Constitution to amend the Constitution."

In a statement, House Speaker Don Scott said he respects the court's decision but would keep fighting for "a democracy where voters – not politicians – have the final say."

"Three million people voted in a free and fair election," he said, referencing total voter turnout. "We gave this decision to the voters – exactly where it belongs – and they spoke loud and clear. They voted YES because they wanted to fight back against the Trump power grab."

Virginia voters narrowly approved the April 21 referendum, with 51.7% or about 1.6 million voters in favor. The maps would have gone into effect this year ahead of the November midterms and used until after the next 2030 census. Under the temporary maps, Democrats were poised to gain four additional U.S. House seats in the midterm elections. Currently, Democrats hold six seats to Republicans' five.

In the ruling, the court addressed potential criticism that it was overturning the will of the people, and said it was the state's own argument that there shouldn't be a ruling before the referendum. If legal precedent forbids pre-election challenges, and the will of the people forbids post-election challenges, then it would be impossible for the court to ever take up procedural challenges to the state's constitutional amendment process, the ruling said.

"On the issues before us in this case, we hold that the ultimate vote margin plays no role in the analytics of our judicial review of the constitutionality of the pre-election constitutional amendment process," the opinion read. "Neither a high margin of success nor a single-digit margin ... logically or legally matters."

Democrats said redistricting was necessary to even the playing field after Republican-controlled states began redistricting to favor their party at the direction of President Donald Trump. The National Conference of State Legislatures reports that seven other states - California, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Utah - have implemented new congressional maps so far.

Virginia's constitutional amendment process requires the legislature to pass the resolution twice with a general election in between. The General Assembly, controlled by Democrats in both chambers, came back to Richmond last October to vote to pass the resolution just days before November's Election Day. They did so through a special session called in 2024 to hash out the budget. Then, the legislature passed the resolution again during the 2026 regular session in January.

The state Supreme Court's majority decision hinged primarily on the question of what constitutes the required election in between votes. Republicans who brought the legal challenge argued the definition of an election should mean from when early voting started back in September. Democrats and the attorney general's office argued the election refers specifically to the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The court ultimately sided with Republicans, saying it would apply the commonly understood definition of election to include early voting.

In a dissent, Powell wrote the decision was broadening the meaning of the word election as it's used in the Virginia Constitution in conflict with state and federal law.

"By focusing on the legislative history, dictionary definitions, and how legal scholars might interpret the term ‘election,' the majority fails to apply the most basic tenet of interpretation of constitutional provisions: looking to the language of the constitution itself," Powell wrote, noting that Virginia's constitution mandates that delegates shall be elected on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

In 2020, Virginians voted to adopt a constitutional amendment that would leave redistricting that occurs after the census every decade to a bipartisan commission. In the commission's first attempt at coming up with new maps, it was unsuccessful in reaching a consensus. The decision got thrown to the Supreme Court of Virginia, which ordered the current maps.

Friday's ruling was issued in one of several legal challenges brought by Republicans.

Attorney General Jay Jones said he was still evaluating legal options.

"This Court's ruling follows a dangerous trend of tilting power away from the people," he said in a statement. "My team is carefully reviewing this unprecedented order and we are evaluating every legal pathway forward to defend the will of the people and protect the integrity of Virginia's elections."

But as candidates are already filing to run for Congress, the timing makes it all but certain that the existing maps will be in place during this year's midterm elections. Virginia's primaries for congressional elections were bumped back to August, and the filing deadline for congressional races is May 26.

The special election drew the influence of national political heavyweights, with proponents and opponents spending tens of millions in a contentious messaging battle. Virginians for Fair Elections, the largest Political Action Committee representing the ‘yes' campaign sunk about $54 million into the referendum campaign, compared to about $18 million spent by the ‘no' campaign's largest PAC, according to campaign finance reports.

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This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 10:50 AM.