Overview
- Republican legislators asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject Virginia Democrats’ emergency bid to revive a voter-approved redistricting amendment, calling the request extraordinary and rooted only in state law.
- Attorney General Jay Jones and House Democrats sought to block the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision and use a new congressional map in 2026 after Chief Justice John Roberts ordered responses to their stay request.
- The Virginia Supreme Court on May 8 invalidated the April referendum, ruling the General Assembly’s first approval came after early voting had begun and violated the state constitution’s two‑session requirement.
- Republicans argued it is too late to switch maps, pointing to Democrats’ own May 12 “point of no return” for election preparations and noting Gov. Abigail Spanberger says the state will use the current map in 2026.
- Amicus briefs split, with the NAACP Virginia State Conference and Advancement Project urging a stay and citing 3.1 million votes cast, while West Virginia’s attorney general and the American Center for Law and Justice opposed and warned of voter confusion; the clerks of both legislative chambers supported the emergency filing, citing unresolved legislative-immunity issues.