Democrats were reportedly considering lowering the retirement age for state Supreme Court justices following the court’s decision to strike down a redistricting voter referendum, The New York Times reported Sunday.
The idea, which was broached during a Saturday call with Democratic lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, would reduce the retirement age of Virginia Supreme Court justices from 75 to 54, forcing all current justices off the bench and appointing justices who would vote in favor of the gerrymandering plan. The plan comes after the Virginia Supreme Court ruled against the new maps in a 4-3 decision Friday.
The maneuver would rely on Democrats who control both chambers of the state Legislature in Richmond, lowering the mandatory retirement age, then filling newly created vacancies with justices who could potentially rehear the redistricting case and rule in their favor.
Democratic Virginia Rep. Suhas Subramanyam reportedly supported doing whatever was necessary to preserve the map approved by voters, including replacing state Supreme Court justices, according to the NYT.
“Everyone has got to have a strong stomach right now; this is a complete disaster waiting to happen if people are timid,” Subramanyam told the NYT, adding, “We have Republican states ignoring their constitutions and interrupting early voting and ignoring their Supreme Courts all together. We know based on that, Republicans would explore every single option possible to move this forward.”
Subramanyam’s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
The Democrats’ gerrymandering scheme in Virginia was defeated by the Virginia Supreme Court last week yet they continue pushing their blatant power grab. Democrat politicians want to fire our Virginia Supreme Court justices and replace them with their “yes” men. Pay attention… pic.twitter.com/8AqkFeXpm4
— Jen Kiggans (@JenKiggans) May 11, 2026
The proposed map was expected to give Democrats a chance to pick up as many as 4 new seats.
The Virginia Supreme Court ruling centered on what it said were procedural missteps in the maps’ enactment. The court found that the Democratic-led initiative violated the state’s constitution as it added the redistricting amendment onto the ballot after early voting had already begun.
Any legislation that would seek to lower the state’s Supreme Court retirement age would ultimately have to be approved by Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who has not publicly commented on the proposal. Spanberger campaigned for the redrawn districts prior to Friday’s ruling.
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