{"id":50,"date":"2026-05-24T20:37:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T20:37:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=50"},"modified":"2026-05-24T20:37:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T20:37:56","slug":"court-denies-virginias-request-to-reinstate-congressional-map-that-would-benefit-democrats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=50","title":{"rendered":"Court denies Virginia\u2019s request to reinstate congressional map that would benefit Democrats"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Supreme Court on Friday evening turned down a request by Virginia\u2019s attorney general and other Virginia Democrats to allow the state to use a new congressional map, which would have been expected to strongly favor Democrats, in the 2026 elections.<\/p>\n

Read more Justices validate authority of federal courts to confirm arbitration awards \u2013 at least in cases already in federal court<\/a><\/p>\n

The denial came in sent to reporters at 6:30 p.m. EDT on Friday \u2013 just 15 minutes after the court\u2019s Public Information Office distributed the reply filed by Jay Jones, the Virginia attorney general, and Democratic legislators.<\/p>\n

There were no public dissents from the order. The effects of the court\u2019s order are likely relatively minimal, because Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger had already indicated earlier this week that the state would not use the 2026 map in the upcoming elections.<\/p>\n

Jones and the other Virginia Democrats came to the Supreme Court on Monday, asking the justices to block a May 8 by the Virginia Supreme Court that invalidated an amendment to the Virginia Constitution allowing the state\u2019s Legislature to enact a new congressional map.<\/p>\n

The Virginia General Assembly had adopted the new map in February. But before the state could actually use the map, it needed the state\u2019s voters to approve an amendment to the Virginia constitution that would give the General Assembly the power to draw a new congressional map outside of the normal cycle following the decennial census. In April, voters approved an amendment to the state\u2019s constitution that gave the General Assembly the power to do so. Nevertheless, a divided Virginia Supreme Court on the ground that the Legislature had not followed the correct procedures when it put the new amendment on the ballot. The majority explained that under the state constitution, the Legislature must approve a proposed amendment to the constitution during two different legislative sessions, which must be separated by an election to the General Assembly\u2019s House of Delegates. Although the Legislature had voted on the proposed amendment for the first time on Oct. 31, 2025, the majority said, more than 1.3 million votes had already been cast by then \u2013 and, therefore, \u201cthe General Assembly passed the proposed constitutional amendment for the first time well after voters had begun casting ballots during the 2025 general election.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Strange judicial bedfellows<\/a><\/p>\n

In their filing on Monday asking the justices to step in, Jay and the Virginia Democrats that the Virginia Supreme Court\u2019s ruling \u201coverthrows [a] democratic outcome just days before the Commonwealth must begin its preparations to administer the 2026 midterm election.\u201d Moreover, they contended, the dispute implicates \u201ctwo critical issues of federal law\u201d \u2013 the meaning of the term \u201celection\u201d under federal law, and the idea that the state court so \u201cimpermissibly transgressed the ordinary bounds of judicial review\u201d that its ruling should be reversed.<\/p>\n

The Republican legislators (along with an election official and two individual voters) who challenged the new map the request to block the state supreme court\u2019s ruling was \u201cextraordinary.\u201d They emphasized that the case involved \u201cstate courts applying state law to hold state actors accountable\u201d \u2013 and is thus not one in which the U.S. Supreme Court should intervene. To the extent that Jones and the Democrats now argue that the case involves federal issues, they added, the U.S. Supreme Court should not consider them because they did not raise those issues until they reached the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

In on Friday afternoon, Jones and the Democrats pushed back, telling the justices (among other things) that \u201cSpanberger\u2019s candid acknowledgment of where things presently stand, which is not part of the record, does not foreclose this Court from acting.\u201d Instead, they argued, her comments merely indicated that \u201cthe Commonwealth will conduct its elections in the manner the law requires, and this Court\u2019s intervention will inform that conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon after the filing was submitted on Friday, the court denied the request by Jones and the Virginia Democrats without comment.<\/p>\n

Read more Court agrees to hear case on ability of employees to bring certain suits for sex discrimination, turns down child pornography reporting suit against X<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Court on Friday evening turned down a request by Virginia\u2019s attorney general and other Virginia Democrats to allow the state to use a new congressional map, which would have been expected to strongly favor Democrats, in the 2026 elections. 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