Supreme Court Bluntly Swats Down Virginia Dems’ Power Grab

The Supreme Court on Friday shut down Virginia Democrats’ latest attempt to save a statewide referendum implementing a redrawn congressional map siloing Republicans into one of 11 districts.

The unsigned order left in place the Virginia Supreme Court’s previous ruling which invalidated the voting referendum Democrats narrowly won. The referendum would have allowed the commonwealth to redraw congressional lines mid-decade, giving Democrats the chance to pick up four seats ahead of the 2026 midterms. The order, which did not include any dissents, leaves Virginia’s current congressional map from 2021 in effect.

“The Supreme Court of the United States has now joined the Supreme Court of Virginia in choosing to nullify an election and the votes of more than three million Virginians,” Democratic Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger wrote in a Friday post to X.

Spanberger also argued voters “made their voices heard” by pushing back against President Donald Trump, who she said claimed was “entitled” to additional Republican seats in Congress.

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled May 8 to invalidate the map approved by voters in a 4-3 decision, declaring the referendum “null and void.” The court found the Democrat-controlled state legislature violated legal procedure by initiating the amendment process after Virginians had already begun casting ballots for the 2025 general election.