In a significant blow to Virginia’s Democratic leaders, the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an urgent appeal to reinstate the party’s proposed congressional map. This decision represents a missed opportunity for Democrats to gain an advantage in the ongoing mid-decade redistricting battle.
The justices, without any noted dissent, chose not to overturn a decision by Virginia’s highest court. The ruling stated that Democrats had not adhered to the proper procedures when submitting their redistricting proposal to voters.
Republican leaders in Virginia argued that the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to review the state court’s decision, and the justices agreed.
This outcome likely marks the end of a lengthy legal struggle for the current election cycle. However, Democrats may have the chance to revisit redistricting efforts in the future. The party had aimed to implement a favorable 10-1 district plan, which could have provided four additional seats in their quest to gain control of the House in the upcoming November elections.
Virginia had become a focal point for Democrats seeking to counteract the mid-decade redistricting initiatives, initiated when Texas Republicans, at former President Trump’s behest, added up to five potential seats last year.
When the Texas map reached the Supreme Court, the justices intervened to lift a lower court ruling blocking it. The justices refused to block California’s new map that adds up to five pickup opportunities for Democrats, allowing it to go into effect as well.
Unlike those cases, the battle in Virginia revolved around timing rules embedded in the state’s
constitution.
For Democrats to send their map to voters for a referendum vote this spring, state lawmakers
needed to pass their proposal twice, with an election in between. The Virginia Supreme Court
ruled 4-3 that Democrats acted too late when passed it the first time in October, as early voting had already begun by that point.
The U.S. Supreme Court can only review state court judgments if they raise a federal issue. The two top Republican lawmakers in Virginia insisted the case didn’t and that holding otherwise
would upend longstanding precedents.
“There’s a simple reason Applicants did not preserve any federal issues in this case: not one
exists,” their attorneys wrote in court filings. “From the outset, this case has concerned only
state-law claims and state-law defenses. It is, after all, about the procedure for amending the
Virginia Constitution.”
Their Democratic counterparts insisted the lower decision misunderstands the federal definition
of an election.
They also argued it conflicts with the authority the U.S. Constitution gives to state legislatures to
regulate elections. A few years ago, Democrats raised concerns that endorsing a maximalist
view of that theory would hand unchecked power to state lawmakers.
“The Virginia Supreme Court’s decision amounts to judicial defiance of the Commonwealth’s
Constitution and the statutes enacted by the General Assembly lawfully establishing
congressional districts to be used in the upcoming 2026 election,” they wrote in their emergency appeal this week.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) said a day earlier that the state would move ahead with its old map, as the deadline had passed, according to WTOP.