RICHMOND, Va. — May 8, 2026 — The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a voter‑approved redistricting amendment, ruling 4–3 that the General Assembly violated the state constitution when it placed the measure on the April 21 ballot. The decision voids the referendum results and blocks a Democratic‑backed congressional map that would have reshaped the state’s political landscape.
The majority held that lawmakers failed to follow Article XII, Section 1 of the Virginia Constitution, which requires two legislative approvals of a proposed amendment with a general election for the House of Delegates in between. According to the court, that requirement was not met because the first legislative vote occurred after early voting had already begun for the 2025 general election.
Early voting opened on September 19, 2025, and more than 1.3 million ballots had been cast by the time the General Assembly approved the amendment on October 31, 2025. The court wrote that the intervening election “had already commenced,” making it ineligible to satisfy the constitutional requirement.
“The violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote,” the majority said, declaring the amendment “null and void.”
Dissent Focuses on Definition of ‘Election’
Chief Justice Cleo Powell, joined by two justices, dissented. The dissent argued that “election” should refer to Election Day, not the entire early‑voting period, and warned that the majority’s interpretation could disrupt future legislative procedures.
Powell wrote that the constitution “has never been understood to treat early voting as the election itself,” and said the majority’s reading “creates uncertainty where none previously existed.”
Impact on Virginia’s Congressional Map
The ruling prevents Democrats from implementing a mid‑decade redistricting plan that was expected to shift the state’s U.S. House delegation from 6–5 Democratic to a potential 10–1 advantage. The proposed map would have added several Democratic‑leaning districts in Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Hampton Roads.
With the amendment voided, the current court‑drawn map, used in the 2022 and 2024 elections, will remain in place for the 2026 cycle.
Next Steps
Virginia’s Attorney General has asked the court to delay its mandate while the state prepares a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Legal analysts note that the U.S. Supreme Court rarely overturns state courts on matters of state constitutional procedure.
The ruling is expected to have national implications, as Virginia was one of the few states where Democrats sought mid‑decade gains to counter Republican redistricting victories elsewhere.
