Overview
- Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled the General Assembly’s amendment process invalid, voiding the resolution and enjoining the planned April 21 statewide referendum.
- The order found three core defects: the first vote occurred after early voting had begun in 2025, required public notice was not completed three months in advance, and lawmakers improperly expanded a special session.
- The ruling indicates the next qualifying House election does not occur until 2027, effectively pushing any voter referendum and potential map changes beyond the 2026 midterms unless a higher court intervenes.
- Democrats—who currently hold six of Virginia’s 11 U.S. House seats and had eyed gains of up to four—said they will appeal, while Republican plaintiffs argued the decision upholds constitutional safeguards.
- The decision pauses plans to unveil proposed maps this week and positions Virginia as a key front in a broader mid-decade redistricting fight that has produced GOP-favored gains in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, and Democratic moves in California and Utah.