HOUSTON, United States
The Virginia Supreme Court ruled Friday that Democrats did not follow the required constitutional procedures in advancing a voter-approved amendment redrawing the state’s congressional maps to potentially add four new Democratic seats in the US Congress.
“We hold that the legislative process employed to advance this proposal violated … the Constitution of Virginia,” the court said in a 4-3 ruling striking down the election results. “This constitutional violation incurably taints the resulting referendum vote and nullifies its legal efficacy.”
The court found that the process that Democrats used to place the amendment on the ballot did not comply with Virginia’s constitutional rules, which require that the proposed amendment be approved by the legislature before being presented to voters during the April special election. Besides, Virginia’s Constitution says that amendments must pass the General Assembly twice before going to voters, which did not happen in this case. As a result, the justices upheld a lower court ruling that blocked the amendment from being certified and implemented.
President Donald Trump took to social media, hailing the decision as a victory for Republicans.
“Huge win for the Republican Party, and America, in Virginia. The Virginia Supreme Court has just struck down the Democrats’ horrible gerrymander,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
If the voter-approved congressional maps had been implemented, the Democratic-backed plan would have allowed Democrats to flip as many as four Republican-held seats, which would have drastically increased Democratic congressional seats from a 6-5 edge to possibly a major 10-1 advantage over Republicans.
Trump created a firestorm last year after he suggested that Republican-led states redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections in November to retain the Republican Party’s narrow edge in controlling the US House of Representatives and US Senate.
Texas was the first state to pass new redistricting maps that could potentially add five new Republican congressional seats. The plan was approved by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott without voter approval.
California countered with its own voter-approved congressional maps that could potentially add five new Democratic congressional seats. That plan was backed by the state legislature and supported by Gov. Gavin Newsom before voters approved it.
Many other states have jumped into the ring to draw new congressional maps before the midterms, attracting multiple lawsuits from Democrats and Republicans trying to jockey for advantage in controlling Congress ahead of the polls.
