Virginia Supreme Court clears way for redistricting referendum

Michael Macagnone, CQ-Roll Call on Mar 4, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

WASHINGTON — Virginia’s highest court stepped in Wednesday to let the commonwealth’s planned April redistricting referendum move forward.

The ruling from the Virginia Supreme Court paused a lower-court order that would have blocked the vote. It is the second time in as many months that the commonwealth Supreme Court has set aside a ruling from the same judge to let the referendum move forward.

Democrats in the Virginia legislature had sought the referendum to target several Republican-held House seats as part of a nationwide redistricting spree. Early voting on the referendum is set to begin Friday.

As part of Wednesday’s order, the commonwealth Supreme Court agreed to hear the challenge to the referendum from the Republican National Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee and several GOP House members from the commonwealth.

The order said the judges intended to let the referendum move forward and decide after the fact whether it broke the law.

“Issuing an injunction to keep Virginians from the polls is not the proper way to make this decision,” the order said.

Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott, a Democrat, praised the decision in a statement Wednesday.

“This question has always belonged to the voters, and I’m glad the Court made clear that the people will decide,” Scott said.

The ruling is the latest courtroom reversal in the case since Virginia legislators started the referendum process last year.

Virginia’s new map would target several Republican-held seats in the commonwealth’s 11-member delegation. As many as 10 seats may end up with Democratic representatives under a new map.

State officials in a lawsuit argued that the legislature broke its own rules when it started the referendum process last year. Judge Jack Hurley Jr. of the state Circuit Court of Tazewell County in southwestern Virginia agreed and in January issued an initial order declaring the redistricting process illegal and blocking the redistricting effort.

Last month, the commonwealth’s Supreme Court took that original challenge but allowed the redistricting effort to continue.

A few days after that, in a separate lawsuit brought in Hurley’s court by the RNC and other Republicans, Hurley separately ruled that the referendum process violated the law. Democratic officials then appealed to the commonwealth’s Supreme Court, leading to Wednesday’s order.

_____

(Mary Ellen McIntire contributed to this report.)

_____