Virginia Supreme Court Invalidates Voter-Approved Redistricting Plan

The Virginia Supreme Court struck down a voter-approved congressional redistricting plan on Friday, ruling that the Democratic-controlled legislature began the constitutional amendment process too late to comply with state requirements. The 4-3 decision renders null and void an amendment narrowly passed by voters on April 21 that would have allowed new maps favoring Democrats.

Justice D. " The court found that the first legislative approval occurred after more than 1.3 million ballots, roughly 40 percent of the total, had already been cast in the 2025 general election. The ruling affirms a lower court decision from rural Tazewell County and deals a significant setback to Democratic efforts to gain ground in the state's 11-member U.S. House delegation.

Virginia's current map, drawn by court order after the 2020 census, elects six Democrats and five Republicans. Democrats had hoped the new map would secure as many as four additional seats by anchoring five districts in northern Virginia's Democratic stronghold and reshaping four others across Richmond, southern Virginia and Hampton Roads.

One proposed district stretched from northern suburbs to Republican-leaning rural areas while another grouped three Democratic-leaning college towns in western Virginia.

Virginia law requires two legislative sessions separated by an intervening election before a constitutional amendment can appear on the ballot. Lawmakers approved the amendment resolution in October while early voting was underway, then again in January after the new session began.

A separate bill in February outlined the new districts contingent on voter approval. Attorney Matthew Seligman, representing the legislature, argued that "election" referred only to Election Day itself. " Plaintiffs' attorney Thomas McCarthy successfully contended that the election period includes the full early-voting window.

" >"We gave this decision to the voters — exactly where it belongs — and they spoke loud and clear. " — Don Scott, Democratic speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates (The Independent) The decision comes after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that weakened key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, prompting Republican-led states including Tennessee to pursue new maps before the midterms.

Advances Map Targeting Majority-Black District Tennessee

The governor signed the map into law, triggering protests inside the state Capitol from Democrats who compared the move to Jim Crow-era voter suppression. The Tennessee map follows the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Voting Rights Act decision and is likely to give Republicans all nine of the state's congressional seats.

Black leaders in the state have raised legal challenges citing voter rights concerns. In response, California and Utah adopted maps favoring Democrats while Florida, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio passed maps expected to benefit Republicans. The Virginia Supreme Court's seven justices are appointed by the legislature, which has alternated between Democratic, Republican and split control.

Legal observers have noted the court lacks a fixed ideological bent, and Friday's ruling turned on procedural grounds rather than the partisan makeup of the proposed map. The court observed that while 47 percent of Virginia voters supported Republican congressional candidates in 2024, the invalidated map could have produced a 10-1 Democratic delegation.

That outcome factored into the majority's skepticism of the map's design, though the holding rested on the timing violation. Further legal challenges to the Tennessee map are expected while both parties assess the impact on midterm battlegrounds. The decisions underscore the intense focus on congressional mapmaking less than six months before the elections.