Virginia Republicans urge Supreme Court to reject long-shot effort to revive redistricting vote
Virginia Republican leaders urged the Supreme Court on Thursday to deny a long-shot petition filed by Democrats from the commonwealth to revive the voter-approved Democratic gerrymander of Virginia’s congressional map.
The brief from GOP leaders in the Old Dominion comes days after Virginia Democrats filed an emergency petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, hoping to reverse a ruling from the Virginia Supreme Court that found state officials unlawfully rushed the April 21 redistricting referendum to voters. The Virginia Republicans argue it is too late for the high court to reinstate the referendum results, and that even if it were not too late, they have no valid federal claims in the case that the U.S. Supreme Court can review.
“Applicants’ demand is extraordinary. They ask this Court to stay a state supreme court’s judgment on a state constitutional issue governing the state constitutional amendment process, all so that they can redraw congressional districts weeks before early voting begins in the primary,” the brief said.
“But the application is even more extraordinary for what it omits: any mention of a deadline for relief, any discussion of the injunction in a separate case that renders the application meaningless, and any federal question providing this Court a basis for review,” the brief continued.
The referendum at the center of the dispute, which narrowly passed last month, would have changed Virginia’s congressional districts to give Democrats a likely 10-1 edge over the GOP, compared to their current 6-5 advantage.
The April 21 vote was ruled null and void by the commonwealth’s highest court last week, after the state legislature violated the Virginia Constitution when sending the referendum to voters. The Virginia Constitution requires ballot measures to be voted on by the state legislature in two stages, with an election in between to give voters the opportunity to weigh the amendment when they vote for their representatives.
The Virginia Republican leaders’ filing to the Supreme Court noted Virginia Democrats previously listed May 12 as the “point of no return” to be able to implement the congressional map approved by voters in the voided vote, a deadline which has already passed. Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) conceded in an interview with WTOP News that the state would use the current congressional map for the 2026 elections, but still said the emergency petition to the Supreme Court had important issues for the future that the high court should decide.
The last-ditch effort by Virginia Democrats is widely considered a long shot, especially because the lawsuit appealed from the Virginia Supreme Court deals with issues interpreting the Virginia Constitution rather than the U.S. Constitution.
The U.S. Supreme Court typically lacks jurisdiction to review cases appealed from state supreme courts that do not have a federal constitutional issue at the center. Virginia Democratic officials have attempted to claim the high court has jurisdiction to hear their claims, despite the dispute being over the state constitution.
The Supreme Court could issue a ruling on the emergency petition any time in the coming days.
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