Virginia Democrats are racing to the state Court of Appeals after a judge blocked a redistricting push that could dramatically tilt the state’s congressional map in Democrats’ favor.
Lawyers for Virginia House Speaker Don Scott (D-VA) filed an emergency motion on Wednesday seeking to halt a ruling by Circuit Judge Jack S. Hurley Jr., who found that Democrats improperly altered the rules of a special legislative session to advance the redistricting amendment.
If approved, the Democratic-backed amendment would allow lawmakers to redraw congressional districts in a way that could give Democrats as much as a 10–1 advantage in Virginia’s U.S. House delegation. The state’s current delegation is more evenly divided, with six Democrats and five Republicans.
Scott’s attorneys argue that Hurley’s ruling “directly interferes with the ongoing process of amending the Constitution of Virginia.” The filing claims that longstanding precedent prevents courts from questioning how the legislature establishes and interprets its own procedural rules.
Hurley’s ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by Republicans challenging actions taken during an October special session convened by Democrats. According to the judge, Democratic lawmakers changed the scope and procedural rules to allow redistricting, a move he concluded violated the Virginia Constitution. Hurley also found that Democrats failed to meet constitutional timing requirements for amendments, which must be passed once before a House of Delegates election and again afterward.
Democrats approved the redistricting proposal less than a week before the 2025 election.
The judge ruled that the election was already underway because early voting had begun weeks earlier. Democratic leaders dispute that interpretation, arguing that the Virginia Constitution defines Election Day as the first Tuesday in November. “While voting began earlier,” the motion states, “the election itself did not occur until November 4.”
The judge also agreed with Republicans that Democrats failed to comply with a separate requirement under state law that court clerks post notice of proposed amendments at least 90 days before an election. Judge Hurley found that no such notice was posted ahead of the 2025 vote.
Scott’s attorneys counter that the notice requirement was removed from the Virginia Constitution decades ago and that the remaining state law merely provides guidance to court clerks. “The Circuit Court far exceeded the bounds of its authority by attempting to preemptively invalidate pending legislation,” the motion argues.
If the ruling is not stayed, Democrats would be blocked from placing the amendment before voters in the April 21 referendum, potentially derailing an effort to significantly consolidate the party’s power in Virginia’s congressional delegation.
The Court of Appeals has not yet indicated when it will rule on the emergency request.
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