Democrats ask Supreme Court to halt a Virginia ruling blocking new congressional districts [View all]
Source: PBS News/AP
May 11, 2026 4:08 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on Monday filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to halt a Virginia ruling invalidating a ballot measure that would have given their party an additional four winnable U.S. House seats.
The move came after the Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a constitutional amendment that voters narrowly passed just last month. The 4-3 state court decision found that the Democratic-controlled legislature improperly began the process of placing the amendment on the ballot after early voting had begun in the Virginia's general election last fall. Democrats argued unsuccessfully that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that, even if early voting is underway, an election does not happen until Election Day itself.
The appeal is the latest twist in the nation's mid-decade redistricting competition. It was kicked off last year by President 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.
Democrats are taking a legal long shot in asking the justices to reverse the Virginia ruling. The Supreme Court tries to avoid second-guessing state courts' interpretations of their own constitutions. In 2023, it turned down a request by North Carolina Republicans to overrule a state Supreme Court decision that blocked the GOP's congressional map.
Read more: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/democrats-ask-supreme-court-to-halt-a-virginia-ruling-blocking-new-congressional-districts
This is a zero-shot but it is better to try anyway to get insight on counter-arguments
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