A circuit court judge in rural southwest Virginia has halted a Democratic-backed effort to redraw congressional districts, ruling that the process used to advance a proposed constitutional amendment violated state law and the Virginia Constitution.
In a decision issued Tuesday, Jack S. Hurley Jr. ruled that the amendment cannot be submitted to voters, writing that his decision “PROHIBITS the proposed amendment from being submitted to the voters for their consideration.”
Democratic leaders immediately pledged to appeal and said they still expect a statewide referendum to proceed this spring.
“Nothing that happened today will dissuade us from continuing to move forward and put this matter directly to the voters,” the Democratic leadership of the state Senate and House of Delegates said in a joint statement according to the Washington Post.
The amendment, pushed through last fall while Democrats held controlling majorities in the General Assembly, would grant lawmakers authority to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. If approved by voters on April 21, the new maps could give Democrats a 10–1 advantage in Virginia’s congressional delegation, replacing the current 6–5 split favoring Democrats.
The lawsuit was brought by Republican leaders Ryan T. McDougle and Terry G. Kilgore, who argued that Democrats ignored constitutional safeguards. In a joint statement, they said the case “was never about partisanship. It was about process, fairness, and the simple principle that you cannot change the Constitution by ignoring the Constitution.”
Hurley agreed with Republicans on three of four arguments. He ruled that Democrats improperly introduced redistricting during a special legislative session that had been convened for budget matters, without the required two-thirds supermajority. He also found the amendment’s initial approval invalid because it occurred while early voting for the House of Delegates elections was already underway, rejecting Democrats’ claim that early votes did not count as part of the election.
“This blatant abuse of power by a majority IGNORES their own rules and resolutions thereby trampling ANY and ALL procedural rights of the minority,” Hurley wrote. (RELATED: Virginia Dems Move to Gut Mandatory Minimums — Even for Violent Crimes)
The judge also ruled that Democrats violated a state law requiring proposed constitutional amendments to be posted at county courthouses 90 days before an election. Democrats argued the provision was obsolete and removed from the constitution in 1971, but Hurley rejected that claim.
In response, Democrats have advanced legislation to retroactively eliminate the 90-day requirement and to require redistricting lawsuits to be heard in Richmond. Hurley ruled those efforts unconstitutional as well.
During Senate debate, Republican Sen. Mark D. Obenshain called the retroactive fix “a clear admission that that is a violation of the law of the commonwealth of Virginia.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott A. Surovell countered that the requirement dates to “a time when people rode horses to the county courthouse to get the latest news,” warning that decades of amendments could face legal challenges without retroactive clarification.
National Democrats condemned the ruling. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee executive director Julie Merz called it a “rogue decision” and a “disappointing, but temporary setback.” (RELATED: New Virginia Democrat Introduces Bill Critics Say Would ‘Protect Fraud’)