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AG Vows Appeal After Judge Blocks Virginia Redistricting Vote

3 mins read
Abigail Spanberger
Photo Credit: Ezra Deutsch-Feldman, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Virginia’s attorney general is moving to overturn a judge’s order that halted a voter-approved redistricting plan, setting up a fresh legal fight as national Republicans and Democrats clash over what the outcome means for congressional maps.

Attorney General Jay Jones said he will appeal the injunction after a circuit court judge ruled the referendum unconstitutional, despite voters narrowly backing the measure.

“As I said last night, Virginia voters have spoken, and an activist judge should not have veto power over the People’s vote,” Jones remarked in a statement. “We look forward to defending the outcome of last night’s election in court.”

The dispute centers on a temporary constitutional amendment that would allow Democrats to redraw most of the state’s congressional districts ahead of the next census.

Unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections showed the measure passing with 51 percent support, with 48 percent voting against it.

Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. blocked the referendum, citing concerns about the timing and wording of the ballot question. He had previously issued an order in February preventing the April vote from moving forward.

The Virginia Supreme Court twice allowed the referendum process to proceed, including after Hurley’s earlier attempt to stop it.

The court declined to issue a detailed opinion, instead noting that “the process, not the outcome, of this effort that we may ultimately have to address.”

“Issuing an injunction to keep Virginians from the polls is not the proper way to make this decision,” the court said.

Under the proposed map, Democrats could expand their advantage in Virginia’s congressional delegation from 6-5 to a projected 10-1 split.

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The plan would remain in place until after the 2030 census, when an independent commission would again take over redistricting.

The outcome triggered immediate reactions from national political figures, with President Donald Trump alleging misconduct.

“A RIGGED ELECTION TOOK PLACE LAST NIGHT IN THE GREAT COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA!” Trump wrote.

“All day long Republicans were winning, the Spirit was unbelievable, until the very end when, of course, there was a massive ‘Mail In Ballot Drop!’ Where have I heard that before — And the Democrats eked out another Crooked Victory! Six to five goes to ten to one, and yet the Presidential Election in November was very close to a 50-50 split,” he continued.

Republican lawmakers pointed to the vote as a sign they may need to respond with similar tactics in their own states.

“After the Virginia Democrats’ efforts to redistrict in order to increase Democrat seats in the House of Representatives, South Carolina should consider fighting fire with fire,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said.

“I would encourage South Carolina’s next Republican governor and the Republican legislature to seriously look at what our state’s response should be to Democrats in Virginia,” he continued.

Virginia’s Democratic governor, Abigail Spanberger, defended the measure and framed it as a reaction to redistricting efforts elsewhere.

“When we found the results out, I was really excited but not surprised,” Spanberger said. “Because it’s been clear for a number of months that Virginians were really motivated to take this temporary responsive stance.”

When asked about criticism that the process allows politicians to select their voters, Spanberger drew a contrast with other states.

“Well, I think that that’s fair criticism of places like Texas, where it was the legislature that pushed through a redistricting effort without any buy-in from the people,” she went on.

“Here in the Commonwealth of Virginia, certainly it was the General Assembly that drew the maps, but the maps were made available to the public.”

She also tied the trend to actions taken at the national level. “I think it really depends on leadership from the top,” Spanberger noted.

“Importantly, this all began because President Trump said he was entitled to more congressional seats and implored his friends in Texas to make that happen for him.”

Some Democrats voiced concern about the long-term implications of retaliatory redistricting.

“I understand this was all that started after Texas decided to kind of do the same thing. I mean, I get the logic to do the things, but overall, we all lose for that,” Sen. John Fetterman said.

“The wrong thing doesn’t make it the right thing, but that’s where we are,” he added. “And if we continue to just attack the other side, whether it’s a red state or whether it’s a blue state, our democracy is degraded.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries described the vote as a response to Republican-led efforts in other states.

“Last July, Donald Trump demanded that Texas draw five new Republican seats in the middle of a decade, igniting a chain reaction of corrupt MAGA state legislators attempting to rig the midterm elections,” Jeffries said.

“It was important for Democrats to push back aggressively across the country to stop Donald Trump‘s gerrymandering scheme, which was designed to rig the midterm elections,” he added.

“They thought we were going to step back, but we‘ve made clear that we will fight back, and we‘re going to keep our foot on the gas pedal.”

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