Virginia Supreme Court strikes down voter-approved Democratic congressional redistricting referendum in 4-3 ruling

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Friday that the Democratic-led legislature violated procedural requirements under Article XII, Section 1 of the Virginia Constitution when it placed a congressional redistricting amendment on the ballot without complying with the intervening-election requirement. Voters had narrowly approved the referendum on April 21, 2026, but the court declared the vote null and void, reinstating the 2021 court-drawn maps that produce a 6-5 Democratic-Republican congressional delegation. Virginia Democrats filed an emergency motion seeking a stay while pursuing an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.