The U.S. Supreme Court refused Friday to allow Virginia to use a new congressional map that favored Democrats in all but one of the state's U.S. House seats, marking another chapter in the ongoing legal battles over redistricting following last month's Louisiana ruling.
Virginia voters approved the Democratic-friendly map in an April referendum, which was drawn by Democrats and would have yielded four more likely Democratic congressional seats as part of a broader effort to counter the Republican redistricting wave set off by President Trump.
On May 8, the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the referendum in a 4-to-3 vote, declaring it null and void because state lawmakers failed to follow proper procedures to place the issue on the ballot, violating the state constitution.
Virginia Democrats and Attorney General Andrew Ferguson then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking justices to put into effect the voter-approved map.
What the Left Is Saying
In their emergency application, Virginia Democrats argued the state Supreme Court was 'deeply mistaken' in its decision on 'critical issues of federal law with profound practical importance to the Nation.' They asserted the ruling 'overrode the will of the people' by ordering Virginia to conduct elections under congressional districts that voters had rejected.
Democratic attorneys wrote that the decision effectively nullified the referendum outcome, forcing Virginians to vote under a map their representatives in the state legislature had previously drawn and which voters had turned down at the ballot box.
What the Right Is Saying
Republican legislators countered that it would be improper for the U.S. Supreme Court to wade into what they characterized as a purely state law controversy. They noted Democrats had not raised any federal claims in lower court proceedings, making the issue one of state constitutional procedure rather than federal law.
State Republican leaders argued the Virginia Supreme Court's ruling was correct and that Democrats should have followed proper legislative procedures rather than attempting to bypass the General Assembly through a referendum.
What the Numbers Show
The U.S. Supreme Court sided with Republicans without explanation, leaving in place the state court ruling that voided the Democratic-friendly maps. The court's decision not to intervene follows its pattern this year on redistricting emergency requests: In December, justices OK'd Texas using a gerrymandered map potentially giving Republicans five additional House seats; in February, they allowed California's voter-approved Democratic-friendly map; and in March, they blocked New York's redrawn map expected to flip a Republican seat Democratic.
Virginia currently has 11 congressional seats. Under the rejected referendum map, Democrats would have had favorable odds in an estimated eight districts compared to seven under current lines.
The Bottom Line
The Supreme Court's decision represents its latest intervention on redistricting matters this year and underscores ongoing legal uncertainty around how states can adopt new congressional maps after last month's Louisiana ruling provided Republicans grounds to challenge existing majority-Black districts.
Virginia must now proceed with elections using the map drawn by Republican-controlled legislative committees, unless state courts take further action. The outcome highlights the intersection of state constitutional law and federal redistricting battles that have defined this election cycle's legal landscape.