Virginia Supreme Court considers GOP challenge to voter-approved redistricting plan favoring Democrats

Politics Apr 27, 2026 2:14 PM EDT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Supreme Court justices on Monday questioned whether the state's Democratic-led legislature complied with constitutional requirements when it sent a congressional redistricting plan to voters, in a case that carries high stakes for the balance of power in the U.S. House.

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Virginia arguments focus on what counts as an 'election'

During Monday's arguments, the Virginia Supreme Court focused on whether the new congressional districts should be invalidated because of the process used by lawmakers. The justices issued no immediate ruling. ... Because the state's redistricting commission was established by a voter-approved constitutional amendment, lawmakers had to propose an amendment to redraw the districts. That required approval of a resolution in two separate legislative sessions, with a state election sandwiched in between, to place the amendment on the ballot. ... The legislature's first vote occurred last October — while early voting was underway but before it concluded on the day of the general election. Judicial questioning focused on whether that was too late, because early voting already had begun.

Attorney Matthew Seligman, who defended the legislature, argued that the "election" should be defined narrowly to mean the Tuesday of the general election. In that case, the legislature's first vote on the redistricting amendment occurred before the election and was constitutional, he told judges. ... But an attorney arguing for the plaintiffs, Thomas McCarthy, said "election" means the entire period during which people can cast ballots, which lasts several weeks in Virginia. If that's the case, then the legislature's initial endorsement of the redistricting amendment came too late to comply with the state constitution, he said.

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Virginia High Court Weighs Legality of Congressional Map Approved Last Week

Oral arguments on Monday morning lasted about an hour. It was not clear how justices would rule.


A person votes early in the Virginia redistricting referendum at the Fairfax County Government Center in Fairfax, Va., earlier this month. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Associated Press

By Campbell Robertson
April 27, 2026

The Virginia Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday in a Republican challenge to a state congressional map that had been redrawn by the legislature and approved less than a week ago by voters in a statewide referendum.

The case revolves around procedural issues, some of them quite technical, but it carries national stakes, possibly including control of Congress after the midterms. At heart is an amendment, which Virginians approved by a three-point margin last Tuesday, giving the state General Assembly the power to draw a new congressional map mid-decade if other states have redistricted first. Typically, new lines are drawn after the census, every 10 years.

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The case argued on Monday before the Virginia Supreme Court came out of Tazewell County in the rural southwestern corner of the state, where Republican leaders, among other plaintiffs, challenged the amendment on procedural grounds. In January, Circuit Court Judge Jack S. Hurley, Jr., ruled in their favor, saying that the amendment was invalid and prohibiting a referendum on it. On appeal, the state Supreme Court allowed the referendum to go forward but said it would rule on the issues afterward. ... Thomas R. McCarthy, a lawyer representing those challenging the amendment, pointed out that more than a million people had voted in 2025 before the amendment was proposed. “None of these voters had any idea this was coming,” he said. “And that’s not how the process is supposed to work.”

Facing a steady barrage of questions from two of the seven justices, Matthew Seligman, arguing on behalf of the amendment, said that the word “election,” as defined in the state Constitution, clearly referred to Election Day itself, “a single day that takes place in November.” State law provides “an opportunity to participate in the election early,” he said, but that does not change when the election actually takes place. “That’s why it’s called early voting.”

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Nick Corasaniti contributed reporting.

Campbell Robertson reports for The Times on Delaware, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

A version of this article appears in print on April 28, 2026, Section A, Page 16 of the New York edition with the headline: Virginia Supreme Court Weighs New Election Map. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe