On Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed Virginia’s attempt to reinstate a congressional map that could have potentially granted Democrats the opportunity to secure four additional seats in the tightly contested House of Representatives.
This decision marks the latest development in the ongoing mid-decade redistricting battle across the country.
The controversy began last year when President Donald Trump encouraged Republican-led states to redraw district boundaries. This effort gained momentum following a recent Supreme Court decision that significantly weakened the Voting Rights Act, paving the way for the GOP to gain more advantageous seats.
Recently, the justices have ruled in favor of Republicans in Alabama and Louisiana, supporting efforts to redesign their congressional maps to favor GOP candidates, following the court’s voting rights verdict.
However, Virginia’s case presented a distinct scenario. It originated from a 4-3 decision by the Virginia Supreme Court, which overturned a constitutional amendment that voters had narrowly approved just last month.
The state court ruled that the Democratic-majority legislature had improperly initiated the process of putting the amendment on the ballot after early voting had already commenced during Virginia’s general election last fall.
The Supreme Court typically doesnât intervene in state court proceedings unless they present an issue of federal law. Virginia Democrats had hoped to persuade the justices that the Virginia court misread federal law and Supreme Court precedent that hold that, even if early voting is underway, an election does not happen until Election Day itself.
Virginiaâs amendment had been intended as a response to Republican gains in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, and to blunt a new map in Florida that just became law.
Once the Virginia amendment passed, it briefly turned the nationwide redistricting scramble into a draw between the two parties.
That was unraveled by the Virginia Supreme Courtâs decision.
Itâs possible Democrats could use the high courtâs rejection of their bid, while also blessing Republican efforts in Alabama and Louisiana, in election-year messaging about a partisan Supreme Court.
The stateâs top Democrats disagreed about whether it was even too late for help from the Supreme Court. âTime grows short, but it is not yet too late,â lawyers for the Democratic leaders of the legislature as well as the state told the justices in a brief filed Friday.
A day earlier, the office of Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger already had confirmed that the state will hold this yearâs elections under the current districts established in 2021.
Last month, Virginia Commissioner of Elections Steve Koski said a court order was needed by this past Tuesday to set the district lines for primary elections on Aug. 4.
