RICHMOND — The Supreme Court of Virginia has invalidated the referendum that could have given Democrats four extra seats in the U.S. House, a major win for Republicans who started a national redistricting war to maintain control of the chamber.
The Virginia court ruled that the General Assembly violated the state constitution in establishing the ballot measure approved April 21 by a slim majority of voters. A 4-3 majority of the court ruled the legislature had improperly submitted the referendum to voters, rendering the results “null and void.” The court restored the pre-referendum map that was adopted in 2021.
The finding is a major setback for Democrats in their effort to counter Republican-led redistricting in other states.
Republicans changed district lines to give them an advantage in flipping 14 seats across six states and may pick up up to four more as several Southern states move to redraw their maps after a favorable U.S. Supreme Court ruling. California voters passed a ballot measure giving Democrats the edge in flipping five seats, and a court ruling in Utah helps the party win another.
Republicans had filed several challenges to the Virginia effort since last fall when Democrats, who control the state legislature, began pursuing a state constitutional amendment to allow mid-decade redistricting. Virginia law requires a complicated and time-sensitive series of events, opening the door for Republicans to claim procedural violations.
Patrick Marley contributed to this report.
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