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The Virginia Supreme Court on Tuesday (April 28) declined to invalidate a lower court ruling that blocked the implementation of last week’s redistricting election results — at least for now.
Voters greenlit a congressional redistricting proposal with the potential to grant Democrats up to four House seats in the November 2026 midterms on April 21.
The following day, Tazewell County Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled the redistricting referendum invalid and blocked state and local officials from implementing the results.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones moved to immediately challenge Hurley’s decision, arguing that “an activist judge should not have the power over the People’s vote,” in a statement posted to X.
Ultimately, the Supreme Court decided on Tuesday to allow the Tazewell ruling to remain in place for the time being, as it continues to weigh additional legal challenges in the wake of the vote, according to Democracy Docket.
“I think what’s most likely to happen is the court is going to decide the case that they heard yesterday, and that will probably be a decision that encompasses all of the issues raised in all the various lawsuits and will probably decide this one way or another, for good,” State Sen. Glen Sturtevant told WWBT.
Oral arguments for one such case were held on Monday (April 27). Republican lawyers said Democratic lawmakers violated procedural rules when passing the amendment.
The Democratic side, however, emphasized the integrity of the electoral process and argued that the courts cannot nullify the will of the people.
“It would be patently unfair to override the people’s vote because of a concern that they had not gotten the opportunity to voice their opinion months earlier,” Virginia Solicitor General Tillman J. Breckenridge said.
Under state law, the Virginia State Board of Elections has 14 days to certify the election results. The deadline is next Tuesday (May 5).
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