Overview
- The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected Virginia Democrats’ emergency bid to reinstate a voter-approved congressional map, issuing a one-sentence order with no noted dissents.
- Virginia’s high court had voided the April 21 referendum in a 4–3 ruling, saying lawmakers first approved the amendment after early voting had begun, which failed the state requirement for a vote both before and after a general election.
- The tossed map, approved by voters 51.7% to 48.3%, was projected to give Democrats an edge in about 10 of 11 districts by flipping up to four GOP seats, while the current 2021 map leaves the delegation at 6 Democrats and 5 Republicans.
- Gov. Abigail Spanberger said the state will use the existing districts for 2026 because deadlines to implement a new map have passed, even as Democrats argued to the justices that federal law defines an election as Election Day only.
- The denial comes as Republican-led states press mid-decade redraws after a late-April Supreme Court decision weakened Voting Rights Act protections, with new or proposed maps in Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Florida now colliding with lawsuits and tight primary calendars.