Court Battles

Supreme Court declines to restore Virginia Democrats’ congressional map

by Zach Schonfeld - 05/15/26 6:46 PM ET

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by Zach Schonfeld - 05/15/26 6:46 PM ET

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The Supreme Court refused Virginia Democratic leaders’ emergency plea to reinstate their

congressional map on Friday in what would’ve been one of the party’s best opportunities to keep pace in the mid-decade redistricting war.

Without any noted dissents, the justices declined to block a split decision from Virginia’s top

court that Democrats didn’t follow the proper procedures in sending their proposal to voters.

Virginia Republican leaders told the justices they had no authority to review that decision.

It appears to be the final say on the months-long legal battle for this election cycle, though Democrats could try to redistrict in the future. Democrats hoped to enact a favorable 10-1 design that would add four pickup opportunities in the battle for the House this November.

Virginia emerged as a top target for the party to push back on the mid-decade redistricting war that began when Texas Republicans added up to five pickup opportunities at President Trump’s urging last year.

When the Texas map reached the Supreme Court, the justices intervened to lift a lower court ruling blocking it. The justices refused to block California’s new map that adds up to five pickup opportunities for Democrats, allowing it to go into effect as well.

Unlike those cases, the battle in Virginia revolved around timing rules embedded in the state’s

constitution.

For Democrats to send their map to voters for a referendum vote this spring, state lawmakers

needed to pass their proposal twice, with an election in between. The Virginia Supreme Court

ruled 4-3 that Democrats acted too late when passed it the first time in October, as early voting had already begun by that point.

The U.S. Supreme Court can only review state court judgments if they raise a federal issue. The two top Republican lawmakers in Virginia insisted the case didn’t and that holding otherwise

would upend longstanding precedents.

“There’s a simple reason Applicants did not preserve any federal issues in this case: not one

exists,” their attorneys wrote in court filings. “From the outset, this case has concerned only

state-law claims and state-law defenses. It is, after all, about the procedure for amending the

Virginia Constitution.”

Their Democratic counterparts insisted the lower decision misunderstands the federal definition

of an election.

They also argued it conflicts with the authority the U.S. Constitution gives to state legislatures to

regulate elections. A few years ago, Democrats raised concerns that endorsing a maximalist

view of that theory would hand unchecked power to state lawmakers.

“The Virginia Supreme Court’s decision amounts to judicial defiance of the Commonwealth’s

Constitution and the statutes enacted by the General Assembly lawfully establishing

congressional districts to be used in the upcoming 2026 election,” they wrote in their emergency appeal this week.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) said a day earlier that the state would move ahead with its old map, as the deadline had passed, according to WTOP.

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