Campaign signs depicting Virginia’s current electoral map along with the proposed electoral map sit on a Republican Party volunteer table outside a polling place at the Burke Center Library in Burke, Virginia, US, on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
Graeme Sloane Bloomberg | getty images
The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down the state’s recently passed redistricting referendum, dealing a major blow to Democrats who had hoped to gain many seats from the new House map.
The redistricting ballot measure passed by three percentage points in late April, which was seen at the time as a major victory for Democrats, who stood to gain four seats from the redrawn maps before the November midterms.
The Virginia Supreme Court’s decision comes amid an ongoing partisan war and as Republican-led states across the South work to redistrict their House districts following a key Supreme Court decision that weakened part of the Voting Rights Act.
Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott, a Democrat, said in a statement, “We respect the court. But we will continue to fight for a democracy where voters – not politicians – have the final say. Because in Virginia, the power still belongs to the people.”
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