Virginia’s highest court says controversial redistricting proposal will go to voters as planned

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Virginia voters will be able to weigh in on a controversial mid-decade redistricting proposal starting on Friday as planned, says the Supreme Court of Virginia.

On Wednesday, March 4, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled that Virginia Democrats' proposed new congressional map will not be kept from the ballot box despite the ongoing court battle surrounding it.

"[This case] involve[s] weighty assertions of invalidity against the process employed by the Virginia General Assembly in an effort to submit a proposed constitutional amendment to the citizens of the Commonwealth," the justices said in their opinion. "These issues are of grave concern to the Court. But consistent with [past precedent], we offer no opinion on the ultimate resolution. It is the process, not the outcome, of this effort that we may ultimately have to address. Issuing an injunction to keep Virginians from the polls is not the proper way to make this decision."

As such, early voting on the proposal will begin on Friday, March 6 as planned -- with the referendum itself scheduled for Tuesday, April 21 -- while the court system continues to deliberate.

How did we get here?

Virginia Democrats recently pushed through a bill containing a proposed new congressional map that, if approved by voters, would significantly alter the state’s existing congressional districts.

Many Virginians would see their congressional district change, which means they’d be represented by — and able to vote on the future of — a different member of Congress.

This redistricting proposal has been highly controversial. While Virginia Democrats see it as an attempt to protect democracy after President Donald Trump successfully lobbied several Republican states to redraw their congressional maps to favor Republicans, Virginia Republicans see the new map as an attempt at gerrymandering, or the intentional manipulation of electoral maps to unfairly put one party in power.

Under the new map, 10 of Virginia's 11 congressional districts would favor Democrats at the ballot box, based on historical electoral data.

Currently, Virginia has six Democratic and five Republican representatives in Congress.

What legal challenges does the proposal face?

The legal process surrounding this proposal involves several key players. In addition to a Tazewell County judge blocking the proposal twice, the Republican National Committee (RNC), National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and two GOP congressmen have also filed a lawsuit against it.

When first blocking the proposal in January, the Tazewell judge said that Virginia Democrats had violated procedural rules when they added the proposal to the 2024 Special Session of the General Assembly. As a result, any actions taken to advance the plan would be deemed illegal, per the judge.

The Tazewell judge then contested the language set to be used on referendum ballots in a second challenge to the proposal in February.

This language, as laid out in the related legislation, reads as follows:

"Question: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia's standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?"

The Tazewell judge described this language -- particularly the phrase "restore fairness" -- as misleading, which would violate Virginia's constitution.

Why did the Supreme Court of Virginia greenlight the referendum?

In their 6-page opinion, the justices explained that this was not a decision about whether or not the proposal itself was legal. Instead, it was a decision about whether or not it was appropriate to prevent Virginia voters from casting their ballots as planned.

Per the justices, the Supreme Court of Virginia has acted under the principle that courts should generally not block an election.

"This principle does not mean that judicial review of allegedly unlawful elections ceases to exist," the justices said. "It only means that, as a prudential matter, Virginia courts should not prematurely enjoin an upcoming election."

With this in mind, the justices chose to allow the election to proceed.

Should voters ultimately choose to strike down the proposal on April 21, then all court proceedings would be dismissed. If they approve it, the courts would then take any appropriate actions to resolve the legal concerns the proposal faces.

Wednesday's decision is in line with the Supreme Court of Virginia's mid-February ruling on the matter, when its justices also chose to allow the referendum to proceed while the legal battle continued.

Leaders react to Supreme Court of Virginia's decision

Attorney General Jay Jones (D), who has previously voiced support for the proposal, issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court of Virginia's ruling:

"I’m proud of the decisive action my office took to immediately bring this case before the Supreme Court of Virginia, the proper forum to consider these claims. We moved quickly to protect the orderly administration of this election. The Court’s order is clear: the referendum election will proceed. I’m grateful to the lawyers in the Office of the Attorney General who worked swiftly and skillfully to ensure that the voices of Virginians will be heard at the ballot box.”

8News asked House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore (R-Scott County), who previously voiced opposition for the proposal, for his thoughts on the ruling while at the state capitol on Wednesday.

He said that he felt the Supreme Court of Virginia was taking the matter very seriously, calling the opinion's contents "really positive news." He went on to say that he is confident Virginians will reject this proposal.

"I hope that Virginians across the Commonwealth will come together and just vote 'no,'" Kilgore said. "Let's have this election fair and square, [and] everybody will have an opportunity to vote for their prospective candidate in November."

Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi (D) also released a statement, which reads:

“I commend the Supreme Court of Virginia for its decision allowing the referendum election to proceed, giving voters the opportunity to cast their ballots in April. The Commonwealth has a constitutional obligation to respond to efforts that threaten the integrity of our electoral process and to safeguard democratic governance.”

House Speaker Don Scott (D) released the following statement:

“The Supreme Court of Virginia’s decision ensures that this referendum will move forward and that Virginians will have the opportunity to make their voices heard. This question has always belonged to the voters, and I’m glad the Court made clear that the people will decide.

Early voting begins Friday, March 6. I encourage Virginians across the Commonwealth to participate and vote yes to level the playing field.”

For all of our coverage on Virginia Democrats' mid-decade congressional redistricting proposal, click here.