The Virginia Supreme Court voted 4-3 [1] to strike down a new congressional map that voters had approved in a recent referendum [1].
The decision undermines a direct vote by the electorate and returns the state to a legal battle over how congressional districts are drawn. This ruling effectively nullifies the results of a public vote intended to shift redistricting power to the state's legislative body.
Virginia voters approved the referendum on April 21, 2026 [2]. The measure allowed the Democrat-controlled General Assembly to redraw the state's congressional map, replacing districts that had been created by a bipartisan commission [2].
Before the Supreme Court's final ruling this month, a state judge had already blocked the certification of the new map in early April 2026 [3]. That judge ruled the referendum itself was invalid [3]. The Supreme Court's decision follows that trajectory, finding the map to be unconstitutional and gerrymandered [1].
Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli criticized the court's intervention in the democratic process. "This is the end, folks," Cuccinelli said [4].
Cuccinelli said that the bipartisan commission created in 2020 had been supported by voters by a 2-to-1 margin [2]. He had predicted in late April that the Supreme Court would likely uphold the lower court's decision to invalidate the referendum [5]. While some predictions suggested a unanimous 7-0 ruling [5], the actual court split was 4-3 [1].
The ruling leaves the state without a certified map for the upcoming cycle, as the court's decision rejects the map approved by the voters in April [1].
“The Virginia Supreme Court voted 4-3 to strike down a new congressional map.”
This ruling highlights a significant tension between direct democracy and judicial oversight in the U.S. By striking down a map approved via referendum, the Virginia Supreme Court has asserted that constitutional protections against gerrymandering override the expressed will of the voters. The narrow 4-3 margin suggests a deeply divided judiciary on the limits of legislative redistricting power.
