RICHMOND — The Supreme Court of Virginia on Friday paved the way for state Democrats to move forward with a plan that would enable them to add four Democratic-leaning congressional districts, but the effort’s ultimate fate will still be under court review.
The ruling means that the Virginia General Assembly can hold an April 21 statewide referendum on redrawing the state’s congressional map. A circuit judge in rural Tazewell County acted last month to block the referendum, which seeks to amend the Virginia Constitution to temporarily allow mid-decade redistricting in time for this fall’s congressional midterm elections. Democrats appealed that ruling, and the state’s high court said Friday it would allow the referendum to go forward while the appeal is underway.
The Virginia referendum mirrors a similar effort in California that was successful. Voters in that state overwhelmingly approved new maps in November that gave Democrats up to five additional seats, which Republicans unsuccessfully tried to challenge in court.
Early voting could begin in the first week of March, but the court made clear Friday that it is unlikely to hear the case until after the referendum itself, with deadlines for legal filings set as late as April 23.
Still, Democrats claimed victory. “The takeaway is, Virginia voters will have the final say on redistricting in Virginia, and they should,” House Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) told reporters Friday morning. He said he believed the court would not have cleared the way for the referendum — which is being budgeted at about $5 million — if it expected to eventually rule against it.
“I’m confident the Supreme Court will see it as we do, which is that this is a legislative process” and not a matter for judicial intervention, Scott said.
House Minority Leader Terry G. Kilgore (R-Scott) said the state is going to waste money on a process that will be overturned. “We believe we can win both — win the case and win the referendum. We’re ready to roll,” he said.
“Make no mistake, the rule of law will prevail,” said Senate Minority Leader Ryan T. McDougle (R-Hanover) who, like Kilgore, is one of the plaintiffs in the original court challenge.
Passed with extraordinary speed by the Democratic-controlled legislature, the referendum is a response to President Donald Trump’s unprecedented mid-decade redistricting push. Trump has pressured Republican states to redraw their maps to create additional districts that favor Republicans to help the GOP keep control of the House of Representatives in this fall’s midterm elections amid political headwinds.
Texas, North Carolina, Missouri and Ohio have so far answered Trump’s call to add seats favoring Republicans; Virginia is attempting to join California in drawing Democratic districts to counter them, with Maryland and other blue states considering similar efforts.
Virginia’s proposed constitutional amendment does not contain actual maps, but this week Democrats in the General Assembly advanced a budget bill that sets out the districts they intend to draw if voters give them that authority. The proposed map creates one bright-red 9th District in the state’s southwest corner and 10 others that lean blue, carving heavily Democratic counties in Northern Virginia with high voter turnout into parts of five districts.
Virginia’s congressional delegation is now split with six Democrats and five Republicans.
The proposed maps are expected to win final passage in the next few days and then move to Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) to sign or veto. While she has been slower to embrace redistricting than most Democratic lawmakers — saying at one point that she believes Democrats can pick up seats without new maps — she has said she supports the referendum and trusts the will of the voters.
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