Virginia Supreme Court strikes down Democrats’ redistricting plan

The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a voter‑approved Democratic congressional redistricting plan, delivering a major setback to the party in a nationwide fight with Republicans for an edge in this year’s midterm elections. The court ruled that the Democratic‑led General Assembly violated required procedures when it placed a constitutional amendment on the ballot to authorize mid‑decade redistricting. Voters narrowly approved the amendment on April 21, but the ruling voids the results. "This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void," the court wrote. Democrats had hoped the new U.S. House map would help them pick up as many as four seats to counter Republican redistricting efforts elsewhere, encouraged last year by President Donald Trump. Combined with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that weakened the Voting Rights Act, the ruling further strengthens Republicans’ redistricting advantage heading into the midterms. Legislative districts are typically redrawn once a decade after the census to reflect population changes. But Trump spurred a wave of mid‑decade redistricting last year when he urged Republican officials in Texas to redraw congressional lines in an effort to secure additional seats and protect the party’s narrow House majority.