Virginia Democrats have asked the US Supreme Court to revive a congressional map designed to boost their party's chances in November's midterm elections, turning to the highest court after the state's top bench threw out the new districts.
In a four-three decision on 8 May, the Virginia Supreme Court rejected a Democratic-backed ballot measure approved by voters in April that reconfigured the state's US House map for partisan advantage. The court's majority found that Democratic lawmakers had not followed proper procedure when they rushed to approve the referendum last year.
The case thrusts Virginia into an unusual, mid-decade redistricting showdown, with control of a narrowly divided Congress potentially hanging in the balance. The map had been crafted to flip four Republican-held seats to Democrats.
In their filing, the lawmakers, led by Don Scott, the Democratic speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, argued that the state court's ruling had “deprived voters, candidates, and the Commonwealth of their right to the lawfully enacted congressional districts”. They cited a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that warned state courts “may not transgress the ordinary bounds of judicial review”.
The fight comes amid a broader redistricting battle in which Republicans hold a clear advantage. Former President Donald Trump pushed Texas Republicans to redraw their electoral map to flip Democratic seats, and the US Supreme Court's conservative majority has gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, allowing Republican-led states to dismantle majority-Black and majority-Latino districts.
