Overview
- The court, which ruled Friday in a 4–3 decision, said lawmakers first advanced the amendment after early voting had begun, so the April referendum is null.
- This decision keeps the 2026 elections on the current map where Democrats hold six of 11 seats, as party leaders signal an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and ask for a stay.
- The rejected plan was drawn to flip up to four Republican-held districts, a potential gain Democrats now lose in a House battle that may hinge on only a few seats.
- Justice D. Arthur Kelsey wrote that “election” covers Virginia’s weeks-long early voting window, while Chief Justice Cleo Powell dissented and argued it should mean only Election Day.
- The ruling follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s narrowing of the Voting Rights Act’s Section 2, with GOP-led states like Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida moving fast on new maps that could alter filing deadlines and primary dates.