US EditionJudge finds Virginia Democrats’ redistricting resolution illegal
Judge Jack Hurley Jr. found multiple procedural violations in the amendment process, blocking a referendum that aimed to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts before the 2026 election.
- On Tuesday, Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack S. Hurley Jr. ruled a proposed constitutional amendment letting Democrats redraw congressional maps was illegal and declared it invalid and void.
- Hurley found that lawmakers failed to follow their own rules by adding the amendment during a special session and exceeded the session's scope, noting no intervening House of Delegates election because early voting had begun.
- Republican Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle sued in Tazewell County after lawmakers advanced the resolution in October less than a week before statewide races and passed it again earlier this month.
- The ruling prevents the legislature from holding the proposed public referendum, blocking the vote, while Virginians for Fair Elections and Virginia Democratic leadership said they intend to appeal, affecting Virginia's U.S. House delegation split of six Democrats and five Republicans.
- The decision comes amid nationwide mid-decade redistricting fights as State Democrats' late-2025 effort aims for new maps for the 2026 elections, but ongoing litigation leaves prospects uncertain.
105 Articles
105 Articles
4 things to know about the court ruling that, for now, blocks Virginia’s redistricting
Virginia Democrats wanted to eliminate four Republican congressional seats through a mid-decade redistricting, which required some unusual legislative manuevers to make happen. On Tuesday, a judge in Tazewell County ruled that those were against the law. Democrats will appeal this as quickly as they can, so this is by no means the end. As Winston Churchill famously said after the Battle of El Alamein: “Now this is not the end. It is not even the…
Spanberger and Democrats work to turn Virginia into Venezuela * WorldNetDaily * by Robert Knight
Just after being elected as Virginia’s governor, Abigail Spanberger sat down in early December with Washington Post reporter Gregory Schneider. The last time Democrats ran all three branches of the state government, in 2020 and 2021, they enacted an “aggressive” agenda, he wrote. They abolished the death penalty, legalized marijuana and punished the use of fossil fuels. They also got rid of the voter ID law. “This time, Spanberger and some Democ…
Blue state's redistricting scheme shot down as Dems cry foul at GOP 'court-shopping'
Virginia court strikes down redistricting amendment headed for April ballotby Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury January 27, 2026A Virginia circuit court on Tuesday struck down a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at giving lawmakers the option to redraw congressional districts mid-decade, dealin...
Virginia Democrats' redistricting resolution illegal due to technicality, judge finds
The judge also said the Democratic-led legislature failed to follow its own rules in adding the redistricting amendment to a special session, calling that “a blatant abuse of power.”
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