The Supreme Court rejected Virginia Democrats’ long-shot request to revive a voter-backed redistricting plan for the commonwealth, which was struck down by the Virginia Supreme Court last week.
The high court denied the petition on the emergency docket in a brief, unsigned order, declining to elaborate on its decision, and did not include any dissents. The ruling marks the death knell for Democrats’ hopes of installing a new gerrymander of the commonwealth’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 elections, hoping to flip up to four of Virginia’s 11 congressional seats from Republican to Democrat.
Virginia Democrats filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, asking them to halt the Virginia Supreme Court’s May 8 ruling finding the state legislature violated the state constitution’s process for holding a referendum on a constitutional amendment. The Virginia Constitution requires ballot measures to be voted on by the state legislature in two stages, with an election in between to give voters the opportunity to weigh the amendment when they vote for their representatives.
The 4-3 majority on the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that because the state legislature passed the constitutional amendment after more than 1 million votes had been cast through early voting in the 2025 election, the April 21 referendum was null and void. Voters had narrowly approved the new congressional map in the referendum, which likely would have shifted the commonwealth’s congressional delegation from a 6-5 Democratic advantage to a 10-1 Democratic advantage.
The emergency petition filed with the U.S. Supreme Court by Virginia Democrats argued the Virginia Supreme Court erred in ruling that an “election” in the Virginia Constitution includes the early-voting period, instead arguing that under federal law, an “election” refers to a singular day.
They also argued the U.S. Supreme Court had jurisdiction to review the Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling despite the case involving the Virginia Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court typically lacks jurisdiction to review cases appealed from state supreme courts that do not have a federal constitutional issue at the center.
VIRGINIA REPUBLICANS URGE SUPREME COURT TO REJECT LONG-SHOT EFFORT TO REVIVE REDISTRICTING VOTE
Ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court order, Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) conceded in an interview with WTOP News on Thursday that the state would use the current congressional map for the 2026 elections, but still said the emergency petition to the Supreme Court, which was still pending at the time of the interview, had important issues for the future that the high court should decide.
Virginia Democrats could still attempt another redistricting referendum in line with the Virginia Constitution, but the earliest the map could be changed would be for the 2028 election.