Politics

Virginia court strikes down Democratic redistricting plan

It deals a substantial blow to the party’s hopes of countering Republican efforts to redraw maps.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, center, delivers her State of the Commonwealth address before a joint session of the Virignia General Assembly at the Capitol Monday Jan. 19, 2026, in Richmond, Va. House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, top center, Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, top left, and Virginia Senate President Pro-tem, Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, top right, join in the welcome. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a voter-approved redistricting plan that would have helped Democrats pick up as many as four new seats in Congress, a massive blow to the party’s hopes of evening a mid-decade gerrymandering battle that has been playing out across the country.

The 4-3 opinion, authored by Justice D. Arthur Kelsey, found that the Democratic-controlled legislature violated the requirements to amend the state constitution by approving an initial version when voters were already voting.

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