{"id":2576153,"date":"2026-03-04T17:09:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-court-we-cant-say-whether-dems-gerrymandering-is-illegal-until-after-they-try-it\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T17:12:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:12:32","slug":"virginia-court-we-cant-say-whether-dems-gerrymandering-is-illegal-until-after-they-try-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-court-we-cant-say-whether-dems-gerrymandering-is-illegal-until-after-they-try-it\/","title":{"rendered":"VA Court Can&#8217;t Say If Dem Gerrymander Is Illegal Until After They Try It"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvirginia-court-we-cant-say-whether-dems-gerrymandering-is-illegal-until-after-they-try-it%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2576153&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Virginia circuit court allowed a referendum to move forward that would let Democrats redraw the state\u2019s congressional map, perhaps eliminating four Republican seats and creating a 10-1 Democratic advantage, while leaving open questions about the referendum\u2019s legality. The City of Lynchburg had sought to pause early voting or have the court decide the legality, but Judge Patrick Yeatts declined to weigh the merits, saying constitutional issues should be resolved after the election and leaving the matter to the Virginia Supreme Court. The ruling aligns with the Virginia Supreme Court\u2019s approach in a separate case,which allowed the election to proceed with possible <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-the-supreme-court-may-shy-away-from-2024-election-fights-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Why the Supreme ... may shy away from 2024 ... fights ... Washington Examiner\">post-election litigation<\/a>,though critics warn courts are unlikely to overturn results once voting has occurred.Lynchburg\u2019s attorney said the dismissal was about timing, not the constitutional arguments, which remain live. A central issue is whether Democrats violated the 90-day submission requirement for constitutional amendments. democrats,who control state government and have invested millions into the effort,argue the process is valid,while Republicans face turnout and fundraising challenges and must rely on grassroots organizing. If the referendum passes,the new maps would be used for the 2026 midterms.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A Virginia circuit court ruled that a referendum vote enabling Democrats to gerrymander U.S. congressional districts can move ahead, despite leaving open the possibility that the referendum itself could be illegal.<\/p>\n<p>The case <a href=\"https:\/\/cardinalnews.org\/2026\/03\/03\/judge-dismisses-lynchburg-suit-over-redistricting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">involved<\/a> the City of Lynchburg suing to &ldquo;pause early voting&rdquo; or have the court &ldquo;answer questions about the legality&rdquo; of the referendum vote, as reported by Cardinal News. If approved by voters, the measure would allow Democrats to redraw the congressional map to gerrymander Virginia&rsquo;s congressional districts to eliminate four Republican seats, giving Democrats a 10-1 advantage.<\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/20\/va-republicans-gop-fight-dems-gerrymander-at-the-ballot-not-just-in-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, Republicans have apparently been relying on untrustworthy courts to stop the referendum, while essentially ignoring a get-out-the-vote effort. They now have two days before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rnc-will-advise-candidates-to-stay-out-of-debates-if-reforms-arent-made\/\" title=\"RNC: Will Advise Candidates to Stay Out of Debates If Reforms Aren&#039;t Made\">early voting starts<\/a> on March 6, with &ldquo;Election Day&rdquo; set for April 21.<\/p>\n<p>In a Monday ruling, Judge Patrick Yeatts of the Lynchburg Circuit Court refused to rule on the substance of a lawsuit aimed at stopping the referendum vote from taking place, leaving the issue in the hands of the Virginia Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p>Yeatts also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2026\/mar\/4\/early-voting-virginias-new-congressional-map-gets-green-light-judge\/?utm_campaign=twtnl_x&amp;utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_medium=SocialFlow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> that the constitutional questions about the election needed to be answered after votes were cast, as the referendum process was already in motion and it wouldn&rsquo;t be &ldquo;appropriate for him to intervene,&rdquo; as <a href=\"https:\/\/cardinalnews.org\/2026\/03\/03\/judge-dismisses-lynchburg-suit-over-redistricting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> by Cardinal News.<\/p>\n<p>The decision is similar to one the Virginia Supreme Court made in a separate case &mdash; allowing the election to proceed, and saying that there could be room for litigation after the votes are counted. As The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/20\/va-republicans-gop-fight-dems-gerrymander-at-the-ballot-not-just-in-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, one major concern with this approach is that it is extremely unlikely any court would overturn the results of an election, even if it decided that the election itself was illegal and should have never taken place.<\/p>\n<p>Tim Anderson, attorney for Lynchburg and former Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AssocAnderson\/status\/2028513863784694027?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> on social media that &ldquo;the Lynchburg Circuit Court dismissed our action &mdash; not on the merits, and not because our constitutional arguments were wrong &mdash; but because the Court ruled it would not exercise jurisdiction until after the election is completed.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The dismissal was based solely on timing &mdash; the Court concluded that the constitutional challenges must be litigated after the election, not before it,&rdquo; Anderson added. &ldquo;That means none of the substantive constitutional issues were rejected. They remain live and will have to be litigated.&rdquo; For his part, Anderson called Democrats&rsquo; gerrymandering referendum a &ldquo;completely blatant illegal election.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>One of the issues from the lawsuit includes whether Democrats violated a <a href=\"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/constitutionexpand\/article12\/#:~:text=The%20General%20Assembly%20shall%20provide,convention%20proposals%20to%20the%20voters.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >constitutional 90-day submission timeline<\/a><\/a> for constitutional amendments, stipulating that amendments cannot appear on a ballot before 90 days after the final adjournment of a legislative session. The <a href=\"https:\/\/cardinalnews.org\/2026\/03\/02\/williams-virginias-redistricting-power-grab\/#:~:text=The%20Virginia%20Constitution%20is%20not,serve%20its%20immediate%20political%20interests.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">purpose<\/a> of that constitutional article is to prevent last-minute constitutional amendments from popping up without a deliberative process, which seems to be the goal of Democrats in Virginia.<\/p>\n<p>With the Yeatts decision, Anderson said the city does not plan to appeal to the state Supreme Court. He added that all localities should administer the election as planned, and that challenges will be posed afterward, according to Cardinal News. &ldquo;The court declined to answer and instead dismissed the action on essentially ripeness, saying that we couldn&rsquo;t ask the questions until after the elections are over,&rdquo; Anderson stated.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no next steps. I mean, we have an election on Friday. I&rsquo;m not going to have a final order until Wednesday. I can&rsquo;t springboard up to the Supreme Court on Wednesday and expect that they&rsquo;re going to hear some kind of a case on Thursday,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re out of time.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/20\/va-republicans-gop-fight-dems-gerrymander-at-the-ballot-not-just-in-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">entirely predictable outcome<\/a> in the courts comes as national Republicans still appear inactive in grassroots efforts, and the state Republican Party is strapped for cash, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/23\/majority-of-virginians-oppose-dems-gerrymander-but-its-up-to-gop-to-get-out-the-vote\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unable<\/a> even to afford television or social media ads. Instead, as The Federalist reported, they will have to rely on phone calls and door-knocking.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The court has preserved our constitutional claims, and we will fight them, but that fight comes later. The fight for today is at the ballot box,&rdquo;&nbsp;Republican Del. Wren Williams said, suggesting there might be building steam for a grassroots effort over the course of the month-and-a-half period Virginia has to vote.<\/p>\n<p>But Democrats have already pumped <a href=\"https:\/\/virginiamercury.com\/2026\/02\/26\/a-voters-guide-to-virginias-2026-redistricting-push\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">millions<\/a> into the state, and they have control of the state government: the General Assembly and the governorship, along with the offices of the lieutenant governor and attorney general. The latter&rsquo;s office intervened in the Lynchburg case.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Today the Office of the Attorney General stood up in court to protect the right to vote. The Lynchburg Circuit Court&rsquo;s decision reinforces our position since the beginning &mdash; this election was properly called and will proceed as scheduled,&rdquo; Attorney General Jay Jones, D-Va., <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oag.state.va.us\/media-center\/news-releases\/2969-statement-from-attorney-general-jay-jones-on-city-of-lynchburg-v-koski-lynchburg-city-circuit-court-ruling\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> in a press release. &ldquo;We will continue working closely with state and local officials to guarantee a fair and orderly process and to safeguard every eligible Virginian&rsquo;s ability to make their voice heard on April 21. We will also continue to vigorously fight back against any efforts to interfere with Virginia&rsquo;s ability to carry out statutorily mandated elections.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Momentum clearly seems to be going in the Democrats&rsquo; direction, except for one <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/23\/majority-of-virginians-oppose-dems-gerrymander-but-its-up-to-gop-to-get-out-the-vote\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">poll<\/a> suggesting Virginians actually oppose the gerrymander attempt. It will be up to Republicans to actually capitalize on that sentiment, instead of remaining stagnant.<\/p>\n<p>If Democrats get their way, however, the new maps will be active for the 2026 midterms, virtually guaranteeing four current Republican members of Congress will automatically lose their seats.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pa-court-rules-improperly-dated-mail-ballots-must-be-counted\/\" title=\"PA ... Rules Improperly Dated Mail Ballots Must Be Counted\">previously covered education<\/a> and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lynchburg case lets Va. gerrymander referendum go<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2576154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-03-135320.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4733,22850,16985,5468],"class_list":["post-2576153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-court","tag-gerrymandering","tag-redistricting","tag-virginia"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-03-135320.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2576153"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2576157,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576153\/revisions\/2576157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2576154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2576153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2576153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2576153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}