The Virginia Supreme Court struck down the state’s new congressional district map Friday in a 4-3 ruling, invalidating a voter-approved ballot measure that would have handed Democrats a dominant 10-1 edge in Virginia’s U.S. House delegation.
The map had passed a statewide referendum last month by a margin of 51.5% to 48.5%, following one of the most expensive redistricting campaigns in state history. Democrats significantly outspent Republicans in advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts leading up to the vote.
“We hold that the legislative process employed to advance this proposal violated Article XII, Section 1 of the Constitution of Virginia,” the court wrote in its ruling. “This constitutional violation incurably taints the resulting referendum vote and nullifies its legal efficacy.”
Under the current map, Democrats hold a 6-5 edge in Virginia’s congressional delegation. The new map would have given Democrats 10 of the state’s 11 U.S. House seats, with a single district remaining competitive for Republicans.
The court found the Democrat-controlled Virginia General Assembly committed multiple constitutional violations in drawing the new map. Lawmakers convened a special session to redraw district lines using a simple majority vote, rather than the two-thirds vote the state constitution requires for a special session. The court also found the legislature failed to observe a mandatory 90-day waiting period before holding the special election to ratify the new map.
The special session was convened after early voting had already begun in a separate legislative election, which the court found denied voters adequate notice.
“None of these voters had any idea this was coming. And that’s not how the process is supposed to work,” said Thomas R. McCarthy, an attorney representing Republican challengers to the map, in oral arguments before the court last month.
Republicans filed suit shortly after the ballot measure passed, calling the redistricting effort an unconstitutional power grab. The case moved quickly through the courts ahead of the November midterm elections.
Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters praised the ruling on social media Friday. “This was a clear violation of the Constitution. That’s why the RNC stepped in to stop Democrats’ rigged maps and WON!” he wrote.
Virginia is among several states where redistricting battles are playing out ahead of the 2026 midterms, as both parties seek to shape the congressional map before November.
