Virginia GOP, Dems battle it out over redistricting before state Supreme Court

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Virginia court blocks Democrats’ redistricting effort, Florida next

A Virginia court blocked Democrats’ redistricting efforts, ruling the referendum unconstitutional.Attention now turns to Florida, where House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issues a stark warning to Republicans regarding their redistricting plans, while Governor Ron DeSantis welcomes the challenge.

TheVirginia Supreme Courtheard arguments Monday on a Republican challenge to a congressional redistricting plan approved by voters last week that could help Democrats win as many as four additional U.S.House seats and turn a 6-5 delegate edge to 10-1.

“The proposed amendment is invalid for several reasons, any one of which is sufficient to invalidate the proposed amendment and requireinvalidation of the vote,”Thomas McCarthy, lawyer for the Republican challenge, concluded in the hour-long hearing on Monday.

The Republicans contend that the Democrat-led General Assembly violated procedural requirements by placing a constitutional amendment before voters to authorize mid-decade redistricting.If the court agrees that lawmakers broke the rules, it could invalidate the amendment and render last week’s statewide vote meaningless.

“It’s often said ours is a government of laws, not of men,” McCarthy continued.“Sadly, that’s not the case if a bare partisan majority can circumvent theconstitutional amendment processand undermine the rights of the people in whom all government power ultimately rests – also, that partisan majority can transform our system from a nonpartisan one where the voters elected representatives into a partisan one where the representatives select their voters.”

GOP FRACTURES OVER VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING MAP HANDING DEMOCRATS 10-1 EDGE

Voters attending an Arlington Democrats redistricting vote watch party in Arlington, Virginia

Voters attend an Arlington Democrats redistricting vote watch party during a special election in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.(Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg)

“We ask that the court enforce the constitutional amendment process by affirming the decision below, declaring the proposed amendment invalid and enjoin certification of the election,” he added.

Lawyers for Democratic legislative leaders urged the Virginia Supreme Court to uphold the amendment and clear the way for the new map, arguing voters and lawmakers followed every step required by the state Constitution.In rebuttal, attorney Matthew Seligman said, “The people did, in fact, validly ratify the proposed amendment last Tuesday,” and argued challengers were trying to undo a democratic process that had already been completed through legislative approval and a statewide vote.

Notably, the justices acknowledged the courts in Virginia only permitted the vote to be held amid thelegal challenge.

the virginia gerrymander approved by voters at the hands of democrats

The Virginia redistricting map was approved narrowly by voters in a special election that the Virginia Supreme Court allowed to be held amid a legal fight over the ‘ramming’ through of mid-decade redistricting.(Virginia Legislative Information System)

DEMOCRATS’ CHAIR VOWS TO FIGHT ‘TOOTH AND NAIL’ TO STOP TRUMP, REPUBLICANS, IN REDISTRICTING BATTLE

Seligman also argued to the justices the challengers’ case depended on reading limits into the Constitution that are not actually there.He argued the General Assembly controls its own procedures, that nothing in the Constitution barred lawmakers from acting as they did in special session, and that the legal meaning of “election” supports the state’s position that the amendment was passed before the relevant November election.

the united states map of gains from 2026 redistricting

A state-by-state breakdown of the potential 2026 midterm impact of redistricting lines redrawn to date.(OpenMapTiles/OpenStreetMap)

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He closed by saying thatfederal lawand court precedent back the view that Election Day is a single day in November, defeating the challengers’ argument.

The Virginia court proceedings mark the latest twist in anational redistricting battle betweenRepublicans and Democrats seeking an advantage in a November election that will determine whether Republicans maintain their narrow majority in the House.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.