The Virginia Supreme Court has rejected the Democrats’ proposal to change the state’s US House map through an April referendum, a significant setback for the Democratic Party amid their national redistricting efforts initiated by President Donald Trump as the midterm elections approach.
The court found that the process used to create the referendum was unconstitutional.
“The Commonwealth submitted a proposed constitutional amendment to Virginia voters in an unprecedented manner that violated the intervening-election requirement,” Justice D. Arthur Kelsey stated in the majority opinion, referencing a state law rule about how ballot referendums can be presented. “This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void.”
This ruling represents a major obstacle for House Democrats who were aiming to secure a majority in this fall’s elections. While they still have favorable conditions to win control of the US House in November due to historical patterns and Trump’s low approval ratings, they had hoped that changing Virginia’s district maps would mitigate Republican gains in other areas influenced by Trump.
The new redistricting plan would have enabled Democrats to potentially gain four additional seats, which could have reduced Republican representation in Virginia to just one district. Before this referendum, numerous lawsuits were filed by the Republican National Committee and other GOP members challenging how it was organized. However, the state Supreme Court allowed voting on it while those legal cases were still active.
At present, Democrats are trailing Republicans by eight seats in their nationwide efforts to redraw US House districts across states. Furthermore, there is potential for additional Republican advantages as Southern states revise their maps following a recent US Supreme Court decision that weakened a critical part of the Voting Rights Act.
Virginians for Fair Elections , which led support for this redistricting referendum , described this ruling’s implications as “deeply troubling moment for Virginia , the nation , and our entire democracy.”
“ This fight is not over , ” said group spokespersons in a statement. “ Because at its core , this is bigger than one election – it’s about whether voters decide our democracy , or whether that power can be taken away after votes are cast. ”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries commented that supporters of t he referendum are exploring all options to reverse this surprising verdict.< p cl ass=” paragr aph – elevat e inline-pl aceholder vos si-par agr aph _ el evat e”da t A-u ri=”cm s. cn n. co m/_com pon ents/par agr aph/in stan ces/c mo x2 qmqy00 0053 b6 r4fypdjxj@pu blished”da ta-edita ble=”te xt”data-com po nent-n ame=” pa ragrap h” da ta-ar ti cle-gu tter=”tr ue” Jeffries added :“ The decision to overturn an entire election is an unprecedented and undemocratic action that cannot stand.”< p c l ass=“ par agr aph-el evat e i nline-place hol der vos si-p ar agr aph_el evat e”d at A-u ri=c ms. c nn. co m/_co mp on ents/p ar agr aph/in st anc es/c m ox2 qr99a00073b6r9 ki po6o y @ pu blish ed”d at A-ed ita ble=t ext” d ata-co mpone nt-na me=p ar agra ph d ata-ar ti cle-gu tte r=t ru e Trump celebrated th e ruling on Truth Social.< p cl ass=“ par agr aph-el evat e i nline-place hol der vos si-p ar agr aph_el evat e”d at A-u ri=c ms. c nn. co m/_co mp on ents/p ar agr aph/in st anc es/c m ox2 qr99a00073b6r9 ki po6o y @ pu blish ed”d at A-ed ita ble=t ext” d ata-co mpone nt-na me=p ar agra ph d ata-ar ti cle-gu tte r=t ru e He wrote : “ Huge win for th e Republic an Party , and America , in Virgin ia. ”< p cl ass=” par agr aph-el evat e i nline-place hol der vos si-p ar agr aph_el evat e ” d at A-u ri=c ms. cn n. co m/_co mp on ents/p aragr aph/i ns tan ces/c mo x14aaz0 00t3 b6 rvxvq h ix7@pu blished ” da ta-ed ita ble=” text ” da ta-co mpone nt-n ame=” parag rap h ” d at a-arti cle-g utter=” tru e ” The court indicated tha t maps established back in 2021 should be utilized for November elections instead. Three justices dissented from this decision.< p cl ass=“ paragr aph-el evat ei nline-pl ace holder vo ssi-p ara graph_ elev ate ” d at A-u ri=c ms. cn n. co m/_c om ponents/p ara graph/i ns tan ces/c mo x1lh1x001a3b sixrn z ly qf7r @ pub lished ”da ta-ed ita ble=t ext ” According t o thestate constitution , the General Assembly must hold two votes before sending any proposed constitutional amendment outto voters with amidterm general election taking place between these two votes. Republicans contended that since early voting began prior tothe first vote approving thereferendum late October2025, it shouldn’t count.
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