Republicans are now turning to the Virginia Supreme Court for a last chance to stop Democrats’ new gerrymandered congressional map before the midterm elections in November.
Democrats narrowly won approval from Virginia voters Tuesday in a referendum to override the state Constitution and do a mid-decade redistricting that wipes out four of the state’s five Republican-held congressional districts.
The Democrats’ plan to gain an advantage in this year’s battle for control of the U.S. House now faces several legal challenges.
Virginia’s high court is expected to begin hearing oral arguments in the cases on April 27.
The lawsuits include challenges to the way the new map was drawn and to the ballot question used to overturn the existing redistricting process.
The focus of one case is that lawmakers allegedly violated the Virginia Constitution by keeping the General Assembly’s special session open for nearly two years to pass the redistricting measure.
SEE ALSO: Trump alleges Virginia pro-Democrat referendum vote was ‘rigged,’ lays blame on mail-in ballots
“This illegal extension of a special session, which essentially converts a part-time legislature into a full-time legislature by back-dooring that conversion in a way the Constitution doesn’t fathom,” said Jason Snead, executive director of the nonpartisan election integrity group Honest Elections Project, which filed an amicus brief in the case.
Another lawsuit challenges the referendum’s ballot language, saying the Democrats’ use of the word “fairness” is deceptive.
The ballot question asked voters to change the law to “restore fairness in the upcoming elections.”
The parties in the various lawsuits include the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and Rep. John McGuire, a Republican lawmaker who is being gerrymandered out of his Richmond-area district.
Tuesday’s referendum temporarily sidelined a nonpartisan redistricting commission approved by voters in 2020. Democrats called it an “emergency” move to counter President Trump’s gerrymandering in other states.
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump claimed without providing evidence that the Virginia referendum was rigged.
“A rigged election took place last night in the great commonwealth of Virginia,” Mr. Trump wrote in all caps on social media.
“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,” he said. “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. In addition to everything else, the language on the Referendum was purposefully unintelligible and deceptive.”
“As everyone knows, I am an extraordinarily brilliant person, and even I had no idea what the hell they were talking about in the Referendum, and neither do they! Let’s see if the Courts will fix this travesty of ‘Justice.’”
Virginia’s referendum was the latest front in a nationwide mid-decade redistricting battle. It began when Mr. Trump convinced Texas to redraw its maps to pick up more GOP seats and help the party hold onto a narrow majority in the House.
Democrats countered in California, where voters approved new congressional lines meant to offset the Texas gains.
Republicans in Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio also adopted maps more favorable to their party. GOP efforts in Indiana stalled after some Republican lawmakers refused to back Mr. Trump’s push. In Maryland, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore’s plan to eliminate the state’s only Republican-held district died in the Democrat-run legislature.
Virginia joined the fray with the election last year of Gov. Abigail Spanberger, giving Democrats full control of the state government.
