RICHMOND, VA (Associated Press) — The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a voter-approved Democratic congressional redistricting plan, delivering another major setback to the party in a nationwide battle against Republicans for an edge in this year’s midterm elections.

The court ruled that the state’s Democratic-led legislature violated procedural requirements when it placed the constitutional amendment on the ballot to authorize the mid-decade redistricting. Voters narrowly approved the amendment April 21, but the court’s ruling renders the results of that vote meaningless.

“This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void,” the court said in its opinion.

Democrats had hoped to win as many as four additional U.S. House seats under Virginia’s redrawn U.S. House map as part of an attempt to offset Republican redistricting done elsewhere at the urging of President Donald Trump. That ruling, combined with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision severely weakening the Voting Rights Act, has supercharged the Republicans’ congressional gerrymandering advantage heading into this year’s midterm elections.

Legislative voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade after each census to account for population changes. But Trump started an unusual flurry of mid-decade redistricting last year when he encouraged Republican officials in Texas to redraw districts in a bid to win several additional U.S. House seats and hold on to their party’s narrow majority in the midterm elections.

Virginia currently is represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans who were elected from districts imposed by a court after a bipartisan redistricting commission failed to agree on a map after the 2020 census. The new districts could have given Democrats an improved chance to win all but one of the state’s 11 congressional seats.

The case before the court focused not on the shape of the new districts but rather on the process the General Assembly used to authorize them.

Because the state’s redistricting commission was established by a voter-approved constitutional amendment, lawmakers had to propose an amendment to redraw the districts. That required approval of a resolution in two separate legislative sessions, with a state election sandwiched in between, to place the amendment on the ballot.

The legislature’s initial approval of the amendment occurred last October — while early voting was underway but before it concluded on the day of the general election. The legislature’s second vote on the amendment occurred after a new legislative session began in January. Lawmakers also approved a separate bill in February laying out the new districts, subject to voter approval of the constitutional amendment.

Judicial arguments focused on whether the legislature’s initial approval of the amendment came too late, because early voting already had begun for the 2025 general election.

Rep. Ben Cline (VA-6) today issued the following statement regarding the ruling:

“This is the correct decision, and it was always going to end up this way. Democrats broke laws that they helped write in the first place, blew through deadlines, wrote a biased and misleading ballot question, and lied to the voters in all of their advertising to support the referendum. The voters of Virginia banned gerrymandering six years ago, and that ban remains in effect today. This is a great day for fair elections and the rule of law, and it’s a great day for the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) released the following statement regarding the Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling:

“Unlike Republican-led states that have redrawn their maps through backroom deals, the Virginia General Assembly let the people decide for themselves in a free and fair election. If the Virginia Supreme Court had legitimate concerns about this referendum, the time to stop it would have been before three million Virginians cast their ballots. But the Court let the process move forward, and Virginians sent a message loud and clear: we see President Trump’s brazen power grab in states across the country, and we won’t stand for it.

“The timing of this ruling speaks volumes. The U.S. Supreme Court eviscerates the Voting Rights Act in a lawsuit brought by a January 6 extremist and Southern states race to craft backroom deals disenfranchising minority voters and candidates. Meanwhile Virginia voters choose to stand up against national disenfranchisement only to see their votes cast into the trash by a 4-3 ruling. A sad day indeed but I’m proud of Virginians’ willingness to stay true to our state’s motto after 250 years. That spirit is needed now more than ever.” 

Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi, released the following statement:

“This April, millions of Virginians from every corner of the Commonwealth participated in our democratic process and cast their ballots in good faith. At a moment when voting rights are under sustained attack across the country, the Supreme Court’s decision sends a deeply troubling message. Across the nation, we are witnessing a systematic dismantling of electoral integrity, all for the sake of partisan advantage. The recent and disturbing actions of the Supreme Court of the United States, as it gutted the Voting Rights Act, the unconstitutional actions of Donald Trump and Republican-controlled states to redraw congressional maps without any engagement with state voters, and the abuse of a Republican-majority Congress that continues to strip rights from millions of Americans all define a frightening path towards the dismantling of democracy. The scale and coordination of these efforts are unprecedented in modern American history.

“Now, in a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court of Virginia has told voters in the Commonwealth that their voices can simply be discarded. This decision does not exist in isolation. It comes amid years of assaults on fundamental civil rights, the battles for voting rights, escalating hyperpartisanship, and coordinated efforts to erode public trust in democratic institutions. These actions disenfranchise voters and weaken the very principles of our country. 

“In a time of growing national instability and political chaos, the Commonwealth has a responsibility to stand firmly in defense of democracy. Virginians understood this responsibility and made their voices heard loud and clear this past November as they elected Democrats who will fight for them into all three statewide offices and secured a strong majority in the House of Delegates. Democrats stood up and fought, as hard as possible, for every Virginian and for all Americans. Virginia must remain committed to an electoral system that puts people before politics and protects the fundamental right of every citizen to participate fully and fairly in the decisions that impact their lives. Our Commonwealth must remain a bulwark and stand on the sacred principle that voters choose their leaders, not the other way around.”