The Virginia Supreme Court has blocked a Democratic-drawn congressional map from taking effect in an apparently major blow to the party before November’s midterm elections.
During the hearing on Friday, May 8, 2026, the court ruled that Democratic lawmakers failed to meet the procedural requirements needed to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot.
The map was narrowly approved by Virginia residents in a statewide vote just weeks earlier – by a margin of three points.
The court order reads, “This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void.”
The new congressional map was drawn in hopes to secure a House majority in midterms. Democrats could have gotten four new House seats with the new map, they need only three to flip the majority.
The court determined that the constitutional amendment process was too late to be lawful.
Under Virginia law, lawmakers must pass a constitutional amendment through two consecutive legislative sessions with an election in between before placing it on the ballot. Republicans argued that Democrats first passed the amendment while early voting was already underway ahead of Virginia’s 2025 statewide elections.
The ruling is part of a broader redistricting picture that is tilting toward Republicans heading into the midterms. Republicans could gain as many as 14 House seats from redrawn maps across six states, compared to six for Democrats.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning racial gerrymandering regulations in the Voting Rights Act has added to that advantage.
Virginia Democrats had launched their redistricting push last fall after Trump urged Republican-led states to redraw their own maps. They needed to amend the state constitution to bypass a bipartisan redistricting commission approved by voters in 2020.
Trump praised the ruling on Truth Social, calling it a “Huge win for the Republican Party, and America.”
