TAZEWELL, Va. (CN) - While Democrats spent Wednesday celebrating their success in passing a mid-decade redistricting referendum, a judge in rural Virginia blocked its certification.
Virginia Democratic lawmakers were jubilant during Wednesday's reconvened legislative session, taking a victory lap following Tuesday's referendum, in which the majority of Virginians voted to adopt a new congressional map that could add four blue seats. The pro-redistricting effort garnered 50.7% of the vote, with 1,374,544 voting yes and 1,336,737 voting no, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.
"We won in 2025, and we won by a large margin, and then we kicked ass again last night," Speaker of the House of Delegates Don Scott said at a press conference, referencing the 2025 election where Democrats flipped 13 seats along with control of the governor's mansion. "When they go low, we go low."
The press conference was held before Tazewell County Circuit Judge Jack Hurley Jr., at least temporarily, voided the referendum results in a five-page order. Hurley granted final judgment to the National Republican Congressional Committee and Virginia-based Republican U.S. Representatives Ben Cline and Morgan Griffith, who accused Democrats of offering a misleading ballot question.
The proposed ballot question asked: "Should the constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections while ensuring Virginia's standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?"
Hurley agreed with the Republicans that the question's partisan language was misleading and fell short of what is acceptable to present to voters. The judge further sided with Republicans, ruling the referendum violates the state constitution's timing requirements.
"This ruling is a major victory for Virginians," Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters said in a statement. "Democrats attempted to force an unconstitutional scheme to tilt congressional maps in their favor, but the court recognized it for what it is - a blatant power grab."
The ruling comes after the Supreme Court of Virginia stayed an injunction Hurley granted to the RNC and the congressmen, preventing the election from taking place. Although the high court stayed the injunction, it allowed Hurley to enter a final judgment.
The order enjoins the Virginia Department of Elections from certifying the results of the special election. Democratic Attorney General Jay Jones quickly announced plans to file an appeal and a motion to stay the order.
"My office will immediately file an appeal in the Court of Appeals," Jones said in a statement. "As I said last night, Virginia voters have spoken, and an activist judge should not have veto power over the people's vote. We look forward to defending the outcome of last night's election in court."
The challenge is one of three aimed at invalidating the special election. State Republican leaders lodged the first lawsuit in January, accusing the Democrats of circumventing legislative procedure when they began the redistricting effort. Hurley also sided with Republicans in that case before the Supreme Court of Virginia ultimately stayed the injunction.
The Supreme Court of Virginia is due to hear oral arguments from the state Republicans and the state Democrats on Monday. Delegate Wren Williams, a Republican, said in a text that he anticipates the court ordering more briefing for the case lodged by the national Republicans.
Republican U.S. Representatives John McGuire and Rob Wittman, who both stand to lose their seats due to the proposed redistricting, filed a similar challenge in Richmond. The congressmen in the Richmond lawsuit also attack the ballot language on multiple grounds, including that it does not fairly reflect the substance of the proposed amendment.
McGuire and Wittman, along with voter Melissa Jurk, claim the ballot language violates the free speech clause of the U.S. Constitution and the state constitution.
The referendum comes six years after Virginia voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment banning partisan gerrymandering. The Supreme Court of Virginia drew the current map.
Democrats relied heavily on painting the referendum as a way to stop Trump from a "power grab." Trump lost to Kamala Harris in Virginia by more than 5 points and by over 300,000 votes in 2024.
The proposed map disperses slivers of Northern Virginia, a densely populated, wealthy liberal suburb of Washington, D.C., throughout the state. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, the only remaining safely Republican seat is in the southwestern part of the state.
"Last night, Democrats only managed to squeak out a narrow 3-point victory despite burning tens of millions in cash and manipulating voters with misleading ballot language," Gruters said. "Every step of the way, Democrats lied and deceived Virginians to push forward what has always been illegal under state law, and today's decision once again reaffirms that."
Source: Courthouse News Service
