A Virginia state judge on Tuesday blocked an effort by Democratic lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional districts ahead of the midterm elections. The court ruled that the push violated procedural requirements in state law.
Tazewell County Circuit Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled that the General Assembly failed to properly advance a proposed constitutional amendment. The amendment would have allowed Democrats to redraw congressional lines this year.
Under Virginia law, a constitutional amendment must pass two separate legislative sessions. A general election must occur between those sessions before the measure can be sent to voters.
“There is no rational conclusion except that the election began on the first day of voting (September 19, 2025) and ended on November 4, 2025,” Hurley wrote in his decision. “Therefore, the Court finds that following the October 31, 2025 vote and passage of [the redistricting amendment] has not been an ensuing general election of the House of Delegates.”
The court identified multiple procedural violations. One involved the timing of the vote. The amendment was approved “some forty-three days after voting began in the 2025 General Election for the House of Delegates.”
By that point, more than one million votes had already been cast. That figure represents approximately 40 percent of total ballots in the election.
The court also found publication failures. According to the ruling, the amendment was “neither published by the Clerk of the House of Delegates, nor was it posted at the front door of every Courthouse,” as required by law.
The decision blocks what critics described as a mid-decade gerrymandering effort. Some Democrats sought to redraw the map to favor their party in as many as 10 House districts. Only one district would have favored Republicans.
Virginia’s current House delegation is split six Democrats to five Republicans.
Democratic leaders said they plan to appeal the ruling. “Nothing that happened today will dissuade us from continuing to move forward and put this matter directly to the voters,” top Virginia Democrats said in a joint statement.
They added, “Republicans who can’t win at the ballot box are abusing the legal process in an attempt to sow confusion and block Virginians from voting.”
Recently inaugurated Gov. Abigail Spanberger did not endorse or oppose the redistricting effort during her campaign. Multiple outlets have reported that Democrats are expected to appeal the decision, as redistricting battles intensify nationwide ahead of the midterms.