Virginia Democrats Ask Supreme Court to Restore Congressional Map Struck Down by State Court

Virginia Democratic officials have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene after the state’s highest court invalidated a congressional map expected to shift multiple Republican-held seats toward Democrats.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

Democratic leaders in Virginia filed an emergency request with the Supreme Court of the United States on May 11 seeking to block a ruling from the Virginia Supreme Court that invalidated the state’s revised congressional district map.

The disputed map, previously approved by Virginia voters, was expected to favor Democrats and potentially place four Republican-held U.S. House seats into more competitive territory.

Last week, the Supreme Court of Virginia struck down the congressional boundaries, concluding the redistricting plan violated provisions of the Virginia Constitution.

In the filing submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, Virginia House Speaker Don Scott argued the state court’s ruling improperly interpreted federal election law.

“A stay is warranted because the decision by the Supreme Court of Virginia is deeply mistaken on two critical issues of federal law with profound practical importance to the Nation,” Scott wrote in the application.

Scott further argued that the Virginia Supreme Court’s interpretation conflicted with federal statutes establishing a uniform national election day for congressional races.

“The decision below violates federal law in two separate ways,” Scott wrote. “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.”

The congressional map at issue had become a major political flashpoint because of its projected impact on partisan control of Virginia’s delegation to the United States House of Representatives.

Republicans had criticized the map as a partisan gerrymander designed to shift multiple GOP-controlled districts toward Democratic candidates.

The legal dispute now places the issue before the nation’s highest court as election officials and political parties seek clarity ahead of future congressional races.

The U.S. Supreme Court had not yet publicly responded to the emergency request as of Monday evening.