Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Democrat Gerrymander Referendum
The Virginia Supreme Court struck down the Democrats’ gerrymandering referendum in a Friday ruling.
Virginia voters approved a referendum April 21 to redraw the congressional map that would leave Republicans just one congressional seat. The state Supreme Court sided against the Democrats and ruled the referendum unconstitutional.
The majority ruled that the measure violated the constitutional process required to place the measure on the ballot. The state’s Constitution requires the state legislature to vote on any constitutional amendments in two stages with an election in between to give voters the opportunity to hold their representatives accountable if they do not like the proposed amendment.
“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,” the majority said. “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 General Assembly did not approve the proposed constitutional amendment until after early voting had already begun in the 2025 House elections. Critics argued that once early voting had begun, the Legislature missed the required constitutional window to act.
The new ruling means Republicans will hold onto their five congressional seats.
Chief Justice Cleo Powell, along with Justices Thomas Mann and Junius Fulton, dissented.
Voters narrowly approved the referendum in a 51.7% to 48.3% vote, which gave Democrats the chance to flip four seats in the House of Representatives. A Virginia circuit court in Tazewell County ruled the redistricting vote unconstitutional in an April 22 ruling, handing the issue to the highest court.
President Donald Trump celebrated the ruling as a “huge win” for Republicans and the country.
“Huge win for the Republican Party, and America, in Virginia. The Virginia Supreme Court has just struck down the Democrats’ horrible gerrymander. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump said on Truth Social.
Several state have redrawn their congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. In response to Virginia’s gerrymandering attempt, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a newly drawn map into law on May 4 that could hand Republicans four additional seats in the House. Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a new map into law Thursday that eliminated the Democrats’ only congressional seat from Tennessee.
Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves told the Daily Caller that state lawmakers were preparing for a special session focused on redrawing the state’s maps after the Supreme Court struck down race-based redistricting.
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