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Virginia’s Supreme Court had ruled that Democrats who controlled the legislature violated the Constitution with a referendum trying to overturn the old maps. Referendums must pass the legislature twice, with an intervening election, before being put to voters, and the state Supreme Court said lawmakers didn’t allow for a full election in between.

The state Supreme Court invalidated a voter-approved redistricting effort. The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Virginia Democrats' request to stay the state Supreme Court decision that invalidated a voter-approved redistricting effort.

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) rejected a request from Virginia Democrats for the nation’s high court to intervene after the Virginia Supreme Court ruled to strike down a gerrymander scheme that would have redrawn the state’s congressional map in favor of Democrats.

Supreme Court Rejects Virginia Democrats’ Effort to Reinstate New Voting Map State officials had asked the justices to step in to allow the state to use a congressional map in the midterms that was drawn by Democrats and recently approved by voters.

The Virginia Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision on May 8 threw out the state’s voter-approved map, ruling in favor of Republicans who challenged it. The court found that Democratic lawmakers had not followed proper procedures last year when they rushed to approve the referendum in the state legislature in time to put the ballot initiative before voters ahead of the midterms.

Supreme Court rejects bid to restore Virginia congressional map favoring Democrats In recent days, the justices have sided with Republicans in Alabama and Louisiana who hope to redo their congressional maps to produce more GOP-leaning seats following the court's voting rights decision.

Virginia Democrats suffered a major legal defeat after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in a high-stakes redistricting dispute, leaving intact a Virginia Supreme Court ruling that invalidated a voter-approved congressional map overhaul.

But the Supreme Court basically responded with a cold shrug. Why does this matter? Because this is not just about Virginia. It is part of a nationwide political cage match over congressional maps as both parties scramble to redraw districts before November.

Under the current map, there are six Democrats and five Republicans. The legal dispute focused on a technical legal question under Virginia law. The U.S. Supreme Court does not have the authority to hear cases about state law, but Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones had argued in court papers that the state court decision implicated federal law too.

The supreme court typically doesn’t intervene in state court proceedings unless they present an issue of federal law. Virginia Democrats had hoped to persuade the justices that the Virginia court misread federal law and supreme court precedent that hold that, even if early voting is under way, an election does not happen until election day itself.

The Supreme Court typically doesn’t intervene in state court proceedings unless they present an issue of federal law. Virginia Democrats had hoped to persuade the justices that the Virginia court misread federal law and Supreme Court precedent that hold that, even if early voting is underway, an election does not happen until Election Day itself.

Supreme Court declines to restore Virginia Democrats’ congressional map The Supreme Court refused Virginia Democratic leaders’ emergency plea to reinstate theircongressional map on Friday in what would’ve been one of the party’s best opportunities to keep pace in the mid-decade redistricting war. Without any noted dissents, the justices declined to block a split decision from Virginia’s topcourt that Democrats didn’t follow the proper procedures…

Virginia Democrats argued that decision can't be squared with the meaning of the term “election” under federal law. And by also rejecting “the plain text” of the state constitution’s definition of an election, the state Supreme Court unlawfully usurped the power given state lawmakers by the federal constitution to regulate elections, Democrats said.

The 4-3 majority on the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that because the state legislature passed the constitutional amendment after more than 1 million votes had been cast through early voting in the 2025 election, the April 21 referendum was null and void. Voters had narrowly approved the new congressional map in the referendum, which likely would have shifted the commonwealth’s congressional delegation from a 6-5 Democratic advantage to a 10-1 Democratic advantage.

US Supreme Court rebuffs Virginia Democrats in bid for new voting map - Reuters US Supreme Court rebuffs Virginia Democrats in bid for new voting map  Reuters