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Redistricting Referendum Expected To Add 4 Democrat House Seats To Move Forward, State Supreme Court Rules
For the second time, the Virginia Supreme Court allowed a referendum, which could lead to a new congressional map favorable for Democrats, to proceed.
As a result, Virginia voters will decide in April if they approve or reject a constitutional amendment that allows mid-decade redistricting.
The referendum is scheduled for April 21st.
The court’s decision Wednesday afternoon cleared the path for early voting on the referendum to begin Friday.
Previously, a Tazewell County Circuit Court judge granted an emergency injunction to block the planned referendum while the case moves through court.
Democrats are attempting to pass a congressional map expected to give the party four additional U.S. House seats.
If successful, the proposed congressional map drawn by Democrats would likely give them a 10-1 advantage in the state’s congressional delegation.
Virginia’s congressional delegation currently consists of 6 Democrats and 5 Republicans.
“Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. But right now, they’re under attack. Several Republican-controlled states have redrawn their congressional maps to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterm elections,” Barack Obama commented.
“Now Virginia has a chance to help level the playing field. If you live in the Commonwealth, early voting begins March 6, and Election Day is on April 21. Vote YES,” he added.
Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. But right now, they’re under attack.
Several Republican-controlled states have redrawn their congressional maps to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterm elections.
Now Virginia has a chance to help level… pic.twitter.com/CDgaH5sumc
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 5, 2026
More from the Associated Press:
The court still has not ruled on whether the mid-decade redistricting amendment and referendum are legal, indicating that the scheduled April vote could be all for nothing if the top court upholds a lower court ruling blocking the effort. Early voting on the referendum is supposed to begin Friday.
“It is the process, not the outcome, of this effort that we may ultimately have to address,” the ruling said. “Issuing an injunction to keep Virginians from the polls is not the proper way to make this decision.”
Since late February, officials in Tazewell County have refrained from preparing for the referendum in light of the restraining order. On Wednesday, Tazewell Director of Elections Brian Earls said he would work hard to ensure early voting would start in his county come Friday.
“I believe we will be ready,” he said in an email. “If not, it will not be for lack of effort.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee, which filed the initial request for a restraining order, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case.
Virginia House Republican Minority Leader Terry Kilgore expressed confidence Wednesday in winning the case and at the ballot box.
“If we can throw this constitutional amendment out, what other constitutional amendments can we throw out over the next few years?” he told reporters following the ruling. “That’s not the way Virginia should be.”
“I urge all Virginians to join me in voting yes by April 21st,” Gov. Abigail Spanberger said.
I'm voting YES on Virginia's redistricting amendment.
Here's why: pic.twitter.com/asTf5s1mS3
— Governor Abigail Spanberger (@GovernorVA) March 5, 2026
Virginia Mercury has more:
In a unanimous order issued Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Virginia granted a petition for review and stayed a temporary restraining order issued by a Tazewell County circuit judge that had barred election officials from preparing for or administering the referendum until March 18.
The justices said the lower court’s order effectively functioned as a preliminary injunction, giving the Supreme Court jurisdiction to review it. The court concluded the injunction should be suspended while the underlying legal disputes continue to play out.
In its ruling, the court emphasized a long-standing principle in Virginia law that courts generally should not block elections before they take place, even when the legality of the election process itself is challenged. Instead, courts typically review those questions after voters have cast ballots if the results are contested.
The justices stressed their decision does not resolve the underlying legal claims about whether the General Assembly followed proper procedures in advancing the amendment.
Those challenges include allegations that lawmakers improperly expanded a special legislative session to consider the amendment, failed to meet election-timing and notice requirements, and used misleading ballot language.
The matter will return to Tazewell County Circuit Court, which the Supreme Court directed to move quickly toward a final judgment.
House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, said Thursday that the court’s decision clears the way for Virginians to decide the issue themselves, something he argued sets the state apart from other redistricting fights unfolding around the country.
“What we’ve said all along is that the voters of Virginia would have the final say, and they deserve to have the final say, which is so much different than what the Texas legislature did,” Scott told reporters at the state Capitol in Richmond.
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