A judge issued an order blocking Virginia Democrats’ efforts to have the state’s U.S. congressional lines redrawn, until after the midterm elections, according to several reports.
In his order, Judge Jack Hurley Jr., who serves on the Tazewell County Circuit Court, argued that Democrats in the state “did not follow the right procedure to approve the proposed constitutional amendment that would allow for the last-minute redraw of the state’s lines,” according to Politico.
Hurley also claimed that “using the still-open session was not allowed because early voting” had already started, according to the outlet:
Democrats in the Legislature first passed a measure to take up redistricting in October of last year, utilizing a special session left open by then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Lawmakers took up the issue again in January, finalizing the plan to put the issue before the voters ahead of the midterms.
But Hurley said using the still-open special session was not allowed because early voting in last year’s elections had already begun, and state law requires the Legislature to pass proposed constitutional amendments both before and after an election. Hurley also ruled that the proposed constitutional amendment was not properly noticed in state courts.
“There is no rational conclusion except that the ELECTION began on the first day of voting (September 19, 2025) and ended on November 4, 2025,” Hurley wrote in his order, the Hill reported. “Therefore, the Court FINDS that following the October 31, 2025 vote and passage of [the redistricting amendment] HAS NOT BEEN an ensuing general election of the House of Delegates.”
Per the Hill,
Virginia Democrats convened in October and once again earlier this month to pass a constitutional amendment to go before voters in a spring referendum that would allow lawmakers to temporarily redistrict the state by October 2030.
Virginia has a 6-5 Democratic edge in its congressional delegation, and Democrats are eyeing a more favorable 10-1 or 9-2 map for November.
Breitbart News’s Amy Furr reported that earlier in January, the Virginia state Senate “approved a constitutional amendment to redraw the state’s U.S. House maps.”
