Virginia Democrats Seek Supreme Court Intervention on Gerrymandering Decision
Virginia Democrats have reached out to the Supreme Court after the state Supreme Court invalidated a gerrymandered congressional map that was drawn to benefit Democrats ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
An emergency motion was submitted on Monday, with officials including Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and Attorney General Tillman Brickbridge expressing that the state Supreme Court’s ruling “disregards the will of the people” who had voted for a redistricting referendum, according to Fox5DC News.
In their filing, officials noted that the court identified “procedural deficiencies in the passage and ratification of the amendment,” stating that the General Assembly did not manage to pass the amendment prior to the “next general election” and failed to pass it again afterward to refer it to voters.
The officials contended that the Virginia Supreme Court “deeply misunderstood two significant aspects of federal law.” One issue highlighted was the court’s “serious misreading of federal law,” suggesting it incorrectly interpreted the state constitution’s definition of Election Day being “one day.” The second point was that the court had improperly monopolized the state legislature’s authority over federal elections.
“With time running out for Virginia to prepare for the 2026 U.S. House elections, the Virginia Supreme Court overturned a federal constitutional amendment that would have empowered Congress to approve a new congressional map,” the filing stated. “The court claimed procedural flaws existed in the passage and ratification of the amendment, alleging the General Assembly had failed to pass it before the ‘next general election’ and needed a second vote from the people to validate it.”
Officials further stated that the Virginia Supreme Court’s opinion suggested that “rather than being confined to one day in November, the term ‘election’ encompasses the entire early voting period starting in September.”
“The court’s unusual and clearly unsubstantiated interpretation has overridden the voters’ will who ratified the amendment by mandating the Commonwealth to conduct elections in districts that were rejected by voters,” the complaint stated. “The Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling is fundamentally flawed regarding two crucial federal law questions, making it significant enough to warrant a stay.”
Stephen Kosky, director of the Virginia Department of Elections, reportedly cautioned that adjustments to the congressional map could still take place as late as May 12 without causing major disruptions to the primary election deadlines.
This plea for Supreme Court intervention follows the Virginia Supreme Court’s narrow 4-3 ruling that determined the “legislative processes used for the redistricting referendum” contravened Article 12, Section 1 of the Virginia Constitution.
The court clarified that “the General Assembly is required to approve the amendment twice across two separate legislative sessions, with an intervening election of delegates.”
On March 6, 2026, the Virginia General Assembly had proposed a constitutional amendment to the voters aimed at allowing partisan gerrymandering of federal congressional districts, according to the court’s decision. “We conclude that the legislative approach taken to advance this proposal is against Article 12, Section 1 of the Virginia Constitution.”
This decision came after Virginia residents had voted in favor of a redistricting referendum in April, which aimed to modify the state’s congressional districts from a 6-5 split to 10-1, favoring Democrats.
