U.S. Supreme Court rejects Virginia Democrats’ effort to reinstate congressional map

Democrats Devastated After Supreme Court Rejects Attempt To Revive Virginia Congressional Map Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times, The U.S. Supreme Court late on May 15 rejected an appeal by Virginia officials who sought to challenge the Virginia Supreme Court’s recent decision to block a congressional map approved by voters that favored Democrats. The unsigned order in Scott v. McDougle provided no reasons for the decision. No justices dissented. The Democratic officials had asked the nation’s highest court to block the state supreme court’s ruling. The referendum was approved by voters, 52 percent to 48 percent, on April 21. The change in electoral district boundaries was expected to give Democrats a 10-to-1 advantage over Republicans in the state’s U.S. House of Representatives delegation. The delegation currently has six Democrats versus five Republicans. 🚨 IT'S OFFICIAL, WE WIN! "The US Supreme Court moments ago has ruled AGAINST Virginia Democrats when it comes to reviving their pro-Democrat redistricting map ahead of the 2026 midterms." WOULD'VE BEEN: 10D-1R MAP WILL REMAIN AS: 6D-5R Another Dem embarrassment. 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/sfWWvumcnJ — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 15, 2026 Don Scott, speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, told the high court in a filing that the state Supreme Court ruling should be stayed because that court was “deeply mistaken on two critical issues of federal law with profound practical importance to the Nation.” “The decision below violates federal law in two separate ways. First, it predicated its interpretation of the Virginia Constitution on a grave misreading of federal law, which expressly fixes a single day for the ‘election’ of Representatives and Delegates to Congress,” Scott wrote. The lead respondent, Virginia state Sen. Ryan McDougle, a Republican, who is also legislative commissioner for the Virginia Redistricting Commission, filed a brief in opposition to Scott’s application. The application is “extraordinary” because it asks the high court to halt a state supreme court’s ruling “on a state constitutional issue governing the state constitutional amendment process, all so that they can redraw congressional districts weeks before early voting begins in the primary.” Even more extraordinary is what the application omits—“any mention of a deadline for relief, any discussion of the injunction in a separate case that renders the application meaningless, and any federal question providing this Court a basis for review,” the brief said. Virginia’s highest court on May 8 threw out the voter-approved electoral map that was designed to flip four Republican-held congressional ⁠seats to Democrats, dealing a setback to Democratic hopes of retaking the U.S. House. Republicans also hold ​a majority in the U.S. Senate. In a 4–3 decision, the Virginia Supreme Court blocked the results of the Democrat-backed ballot measure, finding that Democratic lawmakers had not followed proper procedure last year when they rushed to approve ​the referendum in time to reach the ballot ahead of the November 2026 vote. Normally, state legislatures redraw congressional maps after the U.S. census takes place every 10 years. Last year, the redistricting battle started when Texas, with President Donald Trump’s backing, launched its redistricting effort to protect the Republican Party’s narrow majority in the U.S. House. Other state legislatures, including Republican-controlled Florida and Democratic-dominated California and Virginia. State lawmakers in several other states are currently in the process of redrawing their congressional maps. Those redrawing efforts accelerated after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 on April 29 that race may not be the predominant, overriding reason for how congressional district lines are drawn. McDougle hailed the new ruling. “The Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed what we always knew: you cannot violate the Constitution to change the Constitution,” the state lawmaker wrote on X. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, criticized the decision, which she said had the effect of nullifying “the votes of more than three million Virginians.” “As Governor, I will make sure voters know when and how to cast their votes this year. Because our votes are how we choose the representation we deserve,” she wrote on X. Tyler Durden Sat, 05/16/2026 - 11:40

The Supreme Court rejected Virginia’s bid to restore a congressional map that would've led Democrats to pick up four seats in the House of Representatives.

Order, issued without any noted dissent, is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competitionThe supreme court on Friday rejected Virginia’s bid to restore a congressional map that would have given Democrats a chance to pick up four seats in the closely divided House of Representatives.The court’s order, issued without any noted dissent, is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competition . It was kicked off last year by Donald Trump urging Republican-controlled states to redraw their lines and was supercharged by a recent supreme court ruling severely weakening the Voting Rights Act that opened up even more winnable seats for the Republican party. Continue reading...

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 new election map blocked the Virginia Supreme Court would have favored Democrats in 10 of its 11 congressional districts.

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Virginia Democrats’ emergency appeal seeking to revive a voter-approved congressional redistricting overhaul, leaving intact a Virginia Supreme Court ruling that struck down the effort as unconstitutional.

Supreme Court rejects Virginia bid to restore congressional map, leaving current districts for 2026 elections.

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.

The new map was drawn by Democrats and approved by Virginia voters, but the state Supreme Court declared the referendum null and void because lawmakers failed to follow the proper procedures to get the issue on the ballot.

The U.S. Supreme Court has turned aside Virginia Democrats' long-shot attempt to overturn state courts and force the use of their preferred congressional district map in November's elections.

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 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...

The decision leaves in place a Virginia Supreme Court ruling that concluded the process leading up to a referendum approving a new congressional map was flawed.

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid by Virginia Democrats to revive its new voter-approved congressional map that was drawn to advantage the party for the upcoming midterm elections.

The US Supreme Court rejected a last-ditch bid by Virginia Democrats to revive a voter-approved map that was designed to flip four Republican-held US House seats in the November election.

New voting maps flipped four Republican-held seats to give Democrats an edge in redistricting race sparked by TrumpVirginia Democrats asked the US supreme court on Monday to revive a congressional map designed to boost their party’s chances in November’s midterm elections, turning to the court as Republicans – including allies of Donald Trump – seek to preserve narrow control of Congress.The case thrusts Virginia into an unusual, mid-decade redistricting showdown, as courts weigh whether lawmakers can remake House districts outside the normal post-census cycle – with control of a narrowly divided Congress potentially hanging in the balance. Continue reading...

Virginia's highest court overturned the vote on new congressional map last week.

Virginia Democrats asked the Supreme Court on Monday to restore their new congressional map that would give the party up to four House pickup opportunities in the midterms.  In an emergency appeal, state officials insisted Virginia’s top court committed “judicial defiance" by blocking the map last week. The court ruled Democrats hadn’t followed the proper procedures before voters approved the new congressional lines in an April...

Virginia Democrats asked the Supreme Court to restore its congressional map that aimed to give Democrats an edge in the midterms, days after it was blocked​ by the state's highest court.

Virginia Democrats made a Hail Mary attempt to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, asking the justices to revive the state's Democrat-friendly congressional map.

State officials asked the justices to overturn a Virginia Supreme Court decision that struck down a congressional map, a major defeat for Democrats.

Virginia asked the US Supreme Court to reinstate a new voter-approved congressional map that was designed to flip four Republican-held House seats in the November election.

Virginia voters recently approved a new congressional map designed to help give Democrats as many as four additional seats in Congress. But on Friday, the state's Supreme Court narrowly struck down those maps. Ed O'Keefe has details.

In a victory for Republicans, the Virginia Supreme Court tossed out a new congressional map voters approved in April. CBS News election law expert and contributor David Becker breaks down the ruling.

The Virginia Supreme Court blocked a new congressional map approved by state voters that was poised to help Democrats gain additional US House seats, giving Republicans an important victory after a year of redistricting efforts had largely ended in a stalemate. Greg Giroux of Bloomberg Government breaks down the case and what happens next on Bloomberg Intelligence. (Source: Bloomberg)

The Virginia Supreme Court blocked a new Democratic-drawn congressional map from taking effect weeks after the voters narrowly approved the plan in a statewide vote. NBC News' Jane Timm explains how this delivers a major boost to Republicans as they defend their narrow House majority in the midterm elections.

Maps, recently approved by voters, would have helped Democrats gain up to four new seats in US HouseSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailVirginia’s supreme court on Friday ruled that the state cannot use new congressional maps approved by voters to help Democrats gain as many as four new seats in the US House of Representatives, handing Republicans a major win ahead of November’s midterm elections.The court found that the state’s general assembly did not follow the appropriate procedure in approving the maps, which voters then passed in a referendum last month. Continue reading...

The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday blocked a new Democratic-drawn congressional map from taking effect, delivering a major boost for Republicans as they defend their narrow House majority in the midterm elections.

The Virginia Supreme Court blocked a new congressional map approved by state voters that was poised to help Democrats gain additional US House seats, giving Republicans an important victory after a year of redistricting efforts had largely ended in a stalemate.