VA High Court Greenlights Dem Gerrymandering Effort

The Virginia Supreme Court handed Democrats a massive win Friday, allowing them to move forward with a redistricting referendum that would gerrymander the commonwealth’s U.S. House districts from five Republicans and six Democrats to one Republican and 10 Democrats.

Democrats have been looking for a way to push through their referendum, despite legal challenges and court rulings saying the efforts are illegal, in time for an April 21 special election that would allow the gerrymandered map to take effect before the November general election.

Early voting is set to start March 6.

If the referendum passes, it would allow the Virginia legislature the authority to redraw the congressional maps, instead of its nonpartisan commission. The nonpartisan commission is relatively new in Virginia, coming into play once since its creation by referendum in 2020. In that case, the commission failed to agree on maps, requiring the state Supreme Court to complete the process.

Despite the failures of the commission, the gerrymandering plan from the Democrats is a mid-decade power-grab aimed at disenfranchising Virginians in order to pad Democrat House seats ahead of a potential U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act, which already artificially gave Democrats numerous seats based on racial gerrymandering.

Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and former U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, both Republicans and co-chairs of a group called Virginians for Fair Maps, which is aimed at stopping this process, put out a statement Friday promising further legal challenges.

“Though we firmly believe this referendum is illegal, the court has allowed it to move forward before final judgement. There will be further legal action on this matter,” they said. “All across Virginia, voters are speaking out against this brazen political power grab that allows politicians in Richmond to choose their own voters. It’s wrong, it’s illegal, and it will fail.”

While allowing the special election to move forward, the Virginia Supreme Court bizarrely set itself up to hear the case after the election occurs, meaning there appears to be three potential outcomes: The referendum fails and the case would likely not be heard; the referendum is approved and the court agrees with Democrats, allowing the gerrymander; the referendum is approved and the court agrees with Republicans, throwing it out.

The last scenario is unlikely, since the court would be seen as nullifying a vote.

Republicans are still talking as if things could go their direction, with state House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Va., saying, “we’re going to make our case to Virginians that this is unfair. This is unprecedented. And, quite frankly it’s against the law we believe.”

State Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Va., said, “Last October, democrats took an unprecedented step to illegally pass a constitutional amendment at the 11th hour. The judiciary agreed, and the Supreme Court has taken up and fast-tracked the case. Make no mistake, the rule of law will prevail.”

But beyond the legal challenges that they could present, the state and national Republican parties, as well as other organizations, face an urgent need to set their sights on a massive get-out-the-vote operation in Virginia.