The Supreme Court rejected an emergency request from Virginia Democrats to reinstate its new congressional maps, which were approved by voters in an April referendum.
Justices, in an order filed Friday, said state officials’ request for a stay on the Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling blocking the maps was denied, without specifying why.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, decried the decision on X, saying that the nation’s highest court “has now joined the Supreme Court of Virginia in choosing to nullify an election and the votes of more than three million Virginians.”
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“These Virginians made their voices heard — casting their ballots in good faith to push back against a President who said he’s ‘entitled’ to more seats in Congress before voters go to the polls,” she said. “As Governor, I will make sure voters know when and how to cast their votes this year. Because our votes are how we choose the representation we deserve.”
The state Supreme Court’s ruling restored maps issued by the court in 2021 that had six Democratic and five Republican seats. The recently passed referendum would have increased Democrats’ possible seats from six to 10, and reduced Republicans from five to one.
A majority of Virginia’s Supreme court said because the state’s General Assembly passed the referendum as residents were voting in the November election, its passing violated the legislature’s rules.
The state requires constitutional amendments to pass the General Assembly twice, and in two separate legislative sessions, with an intervening House of Delegates election before they are sent to the governor for consideration.
“This constitutional violation incurably taints the resulting referendum vote and nullifies its legal efficacy,” Virginia Supreme Court Justice D. Arthur Kelsey wrote in the ruling.
Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Cleo Powell, Justice Thomas Mann and Justice Junius Fulton III dissented. Powell argued that the majority broadened the meaning of the word “election” to include the early voting period.
“This is in direct conflict with how both Virginia and federal law define an election,” Powell said. “Under the facts of this case, I believe the circuit court erred and I respectfully disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the General Assembly did not strictly comply with Virginia’s constitutional requirements.”
In a statement after the national Supreme Court’s denial came out, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones called it “yet another profoundly troubling example of the continued national attack on voting rights and the rule of law by [President] Donald Trump.”
“Let’s be clear about what is happening. Donald Trump, Republican state legislatures, and conservative courts are systematically and unabashedly tilting power away from the people for Trump’s political gain,” Jones said. “Just this past month in Louisiana, Tennessee, and South Carolina, they have redrawn their maps and diluted Black political representation because it threatens their hold on power.”
Jones added this fight is “far from over.”
“I am committed to fighting alongside you,” Jones said. “I will be on the campaign trail, working tirelessly to support our Democratic candidates so we can win control of the House in spite of Republicans putting their thumbs on the scale.”
