{"id":2600403,"date":"2026-05-08T13:56:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T17:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-supreme-court-strikes-down-democrat-gerrymander\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T14:03:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:03:25","slug":"virginia-supreme-court-strikes-down-democrat-gerrymander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-supreme-court-strikes-down-democrat-gerrymander\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Democrat Gerrymander"},"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\">14<\/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-supreme-court-strikes-down-democrat-gerrymander%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=2600403&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>The Virginia Supreme Court struck down a last-minute ballot initiative intended to amend the state constitution in a way that would have enabled partisan gerrymandering of U.S. congressional districts.In a 4-3 ruling, the court said democrats violated a constitutional \u201cintervening-election\u201d requirement by passing the referendum after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-virginia-dems-gerrymandering-ploy-is-illegal-and-voided-2\/\" title=\"Judge: ... Dems&#039; Gerrymandering Ploy Is Illegal And Voided\">general election voting period<\/a> had already started-so voters were not given a meaningful chance to weigh in before the amendment was submitted for a subsequent vote. Because of this procedural defect, the referendum vote was ruled null and void, and the 2021 congressional district maps remain in effect for the 2026 elections.<\/p>\n<p>The court also noted the amendment\u2019s underlying effect would likely have dramatically shifted portrayal toward Democrats (from a likely current balance of six Democrats and five Republicans to something closer to 10 Democrats and one republican), including consolidating several representatives from a single county such as Fairfax. It rejected arguments that judicial review should be barred because challenges weren\u2019t stopped before voting began, relying on longstanding precedent allowing review of unconstitutional procedures used to adopt constitutional amendments. The decision emphasized that the timing and reliability of the \u201ctwo opportunities\u201d for voter input-first indirectly thru legislative elections and then directly via the ballot-were compromised.<\/p>\n<p>Attorney General Jay Jones criticized the ruling, claiming it silenced voters, and said his office would pursue legal options. The opinion further clarified that an \u201celection\u201d includes both voters casting ballots and election officials receiving them and closing polls-not only the final \u201celection Day\u201d-focusing on the broader \u201cact of choosing\u201d rather than a single date.  <\/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>The Supreme Court of Virginia struck down a gerrymandering attempt on Friday that would have allowed Democrats to effectively strip representation from millions of Virginians.<\/p>\n<p>In a 4-3 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vacourts.gov\/static\/opinions\/opnscvwp\/1260127.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">decision<\/a>, the majority noted that Democrats violated the constitution in the way it shoehorned the referendum in at the last minute, not allowing voters to have a say in whether it was even put on the ballot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn this case, the Commonwealth submitted a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pas-democrat-secstate-resigns-after-botching-process-over-amendment-for-child-sex-abuse-victims\/\" title=\"PA\u2019s Democrat SecState Resigns After Botching Process Over ... For Child Sex Abuse Victims\">proposed constitutional amendment<\/a> to Virginia voters in an unprecedented manner that violated the intervening-election requirement in Article XII, Section 1 of the Constitution of Virginia,\u201d the court wrote. \u201cThis violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void. For this reason, the congressional district maps issued by this Court in 2021 pursuant to Article II, Section 6-A of the Constitution of Virginia remain the governing maps for the upcoming 2026 congressional elections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The court also acknowledged in the first paragraph that the proposed amendment would have \u201cauthorize[d] partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts in the Commonwealth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Upholding the current map, that means Virginia\u2019s congressional delegation will likely remain six Democrats and five Republicans, instead of 10 Democrats and one Republican, as the referendum would have allowed. The referendum would have also allowed <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WrenWilliamsVA\/status\/2037953305121316889?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">five<\/a> out of 11 U.S. Representatives from Virginia to come from one county, <a href=\"https:\/\/alec.org\/article\/redistricting-in-virginia-ahead-of-the-2026-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fairfax<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/28\/to-virginia-supreme-court-democrats-lawyer-admits-gerrymandering-vote-is-irrelevant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, the constitutionality of the referendum came down to procedural requirements about how referendums actually make it onto the ballot for voters to decide. While other lawsuits that were percolating through the court made other procedural arguments, the Virginia Supreme Court said this process was tainted from the very beginning.<\/p>\n<p>Virginia\u2019s constitution requires that a proposed amendment be passed by two separate legislatures, with an intervening election, allowing voters to have a say on the referendum before it even makes it to a vote for the next legislature.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis gives voters two opportunities \u2014 one indirect, the other direct \u2014 to voice their views on the proposed amendment,\u201d the court states. \u201cVoters can support or defeat candidates for the House of Delegates who either endorse or oppose the proposed amendment. If the General Assembly votes against it at the next legislative session, the process ends there. If the General Assembly votes in favor of the proposal, voters get a second direct opportunity to vote the proposed amendment up or down at the ballot box. The efficacy of the second popular vote depends in part upon the reliability of the first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The \u201creliability of the first\u201d is where Democrats\u2019 procedural rigging throws out the entire process.<\/p>\n<p>Virginia\u2019s elections last 45 days, ending in \u201cElection Day,\u201d but the Democrats in the 2025 General Assembly session waited until Election Day was four days away to pass the referendum, after more than 1 million votes had been cast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe four-day period (which included a weekend) was the \u2018intervening\u2019 period during which Virginia voters could find out what the proposed amendment actually said, whether their preferred candidate supported or opposed it, and whether they wanted to use their vote to express a view on the subject,\u201d the court wrote, saying the move was \u201cwholly unprecedented in Virginia\u2019s history\u201d and that of all the proposed amendments adopted under the current procedure, the court found \u201cnone in which the General Assembly passed a proposed amendment after voting in the general election had already begun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Attorney General Jay Jones\u2019 office argued that the 1.3 million Virginians who cast their ballots in the 42 voting days prior to the General Assembly passing the referendum \u201csquandered that opportunity\u201d to be part of the referendum process, the court wrote, \u201cby accepting the Commonwealth\u2019s invitation to cast their votes\u201d during the early period.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnder this thesis, early Virginia voters unknowingly forfeited their constitutionally protected opportunity to vote for or against delegates who favor or disfavor amending the Constitution by not anticipating a legislative vote on a constitutional amendment four days before the last day of voting,\u201d the court stated. \u201cTo be sure, under the Commonwealth\u2019s logic, the legislative vote could just as well have been one day before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-case-freezing-the-fdas-abortion-pill-approval\/\" title=\"Everything You Need To Know About The Case Freezing The FDA\u2019s Abortion Pill Approval\">court addressed concerns<\/a> from Republicans about why the court did not intervene in stopping the election before it began, explaining that it upheld \u201clongstanding precedent\u201d to allow the entire process to move forward before hearing challenges.<\/p>\n<p>However, the court also seemed to call out the Democrats for attempting to use that fact as a cudgel in pressuring the justices to vote in their favor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt might be tempting for the Commonwealth to think that the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >final vote implicitly stacks<\/a> the deck in its favor \u2014 perhaps enough so that the exercise of any judicial review could be viewed as an <em>ultra vires<\/em> effort to overturn the will of the people. If this supposition were true \u2014 that <em>Scott<\/em> forbids pre-election challenges and that \u2018the will of the people\u2019 forbids post-election challenges \u2014 then judicial review of allegedly unconstitutional procedures used to adopt a constitutional amendment would not exist in the Commonwealth of Virginia,\u201d the court stated. \u201cOn the issues before us in this case, we hold that the ultimate vote margin plays no role in the analytics of our judicial review of the constitutionality of the pre-election constitutional-amendment process. Neither a high margin of success nor a single-digit margin \u2026 logically or legally matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, in response to the opinion, Jones attempted to make that argument, stating, \u201cThis decision silences the voices of the millions of Virginians who cast their ballots in every corner of the Commonwealth, and it fuels the growing fears across our nation about the state of our democracy.\u201d He said his office is \u201cevaluating every <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-cdc-insist-lawyers-and-white-house-counsel-signed-off-on-eviction-moratorium-extension\/\" title=\"White House, CDC Insist \u2018Lawyers\u2019 And \u2018White House Counsel\u2019 Signed Off On Eviction Moratorium Extension\">legal pathway forward<\/a> to defend the will of the people,\u201d though it is unclear where any appeal can go from here, since the U.S. Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KenCuccinelli\/status\/2047062767232847920?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">does not have jurisdiction<\/a> to hear it.<\/p>\n<p>The opinion spent quite a bit of time defining what an \u201celection\u201d really is, since the Democrats contended that it could only be counted as \u201cElection Day,\u201d in this instance \u2014 despite the fact that Democrats are also the ones who instituted the 45-day voting season in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>A \u201cgeneral election,\u201d the court stated, \u201cdescribes the combined actions of voters casting ballots and officers of election receiving those votes and closing the polls on the last day of the election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It is, the court said, the \u201cact of choosing,\u201d not simply the last day of choosing.<\/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 previously covered education 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>Virginia Supreme Court voids Democrats\u2019 last-minute referendum scheme<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2600404,"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\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-08-122941.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[22850,32275,5468,32570],"class_list":["post-2600403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-gerrymandering","tag-supreme-court","tag-virginia","tag-voting-rights"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-08-122941.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600403","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=2600403"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2600407,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600403\/revisions\/2600407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2600404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2600403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2600403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2600403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}