Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Redistricting In Brutal Blow To Democrats
The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday invalidated a state referendum that would have allowed Democrats to pick up five blue seats, delivering a devastating blow in the party’s redistricting battle with Republicans.
In April, voters narrowly approved a redistricting referendum that diluted the voting power of rural areas and gave state Democrats a 10–1 advantage in Congressional representation.
In a 4-3 ruling, the Supreme Court of Virginia struck down the referendum, ruling that Democratic lawmakers violated procedural rules.
“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. This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void,” the court ruled.
🚨More on the Virginia Supreme Court 4-3 ruling against the process that Democratic lawmakers used for the Va. gerrymandering: pic.twitter.com/z5J7yRnSWt
— Virginia News Vanguard (@VaNewsVanguard) May 8, 2026
President Donald Trump celebrated the ruling on Truth Social.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 8, 2026
The decision marks a stinging defeat for Governor Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), who aggressively pursued the measure, despite previously saying she had “no plans” to pursue redistricting.
“Justice has been served. From the beginning, this was the most obvious violation of Virginia’s Constitution. Abigail Spanberger and Democrats in Richmond knowingly violated our constitution to disenfranchise millions of Virginians,” former Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin said. “The Constitution prevailed, and Virginians will never forget this unlawful attempt to rob them of their voice in Congress.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom had a different reaction, claiming “MAGA has rigged the system.”
Tossing out the 10-1 Democratic maps reflects an intensifying nationwide redistricting fight that may favor Republicans ahead of the November midterm elections.
The decision is a considerable blow to House Democrats, who had hoped to balance out the redistricting efforts of several Republican-leaning states to improve their odds in the November midterms.
The referendum saw voters narrowly back a plan to temporarily redraw the congressional maps in a manner that would have heavily favored Democrats. While the state currently has six Democrats and five Republicans in the House, the proposed redraw would have likely sent ten Democrats and one Republican to Washington.
With Virginia's redraw struck down, Republicans appear poised to secure a net gain in partisan-leaning seats through redistricting. Texas, Florida, and Tennessee have already redrawn the maps, while Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and South Carolina are either expected to do so or exploring their own redraws.
The wave of redistricting pushes follows the Supreme Court striking down race-based congressional districts and narrowing its interpretation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
On Thursday, Tennessee Republican lawmakers enacted a new congressional map that would wipe out the last Democratic congressional seat. In late April, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a congressional map that could eliminate up to four blue seats. Louisiana, Alabama, and South Carolina are also expected to redraw their maps after the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act and sharply restricted the use of race-based redistricting.
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