Court Halts April 21 Redistricting Vote, Siding with RNC and GOP Lawmakers

A Tazewell County Circuit Court judge on Thursday granted an emergency injunction blocking what Republicans call an unlawful April 21 redistricting referendum while the case is heard in court.

Chief Judge Jack Hurley issued a temporary restraining order barring state and local election officials from moving forward with the planned vote. The move handed the plaintiffs in the case — the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and U.S. Reps. Ben Cline, R-Botetourt County, and Morgan Griffith, R-Salem — a brief reprieve in a high-stakes fight that could reshape Virginia’s congressional map ahead of the midterms.

In his written ruling, Hurley found the plaintiffs have an “extraordinarily high likelihood of success on the merits,” including their claim that the referendum violates the timing requirement of Article XII, Section 1 of the Virginia Constitution because early voting is set for “sooner than 90 days after” the January passage of House Joint Resolution 4.

Hurley also found the ballot language — particularly the phrase “restore fairness” — is likely misleading and violates the Constitution because it “would lead a voter to believe he or she were doing something unfair by voting against the proposed amendment.”

The order states that “the equities of this case warrant temporary relief ‘for the limited purpose of preserving the status quo between the parties pending a hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction.”

The court denied the commonwealth’s motions to transfer venue and to stay the case, and ordered that the defendants are “temporarily restrained” from administering or taking action to advance the referendum.

The order remains in effect until March 18, unless modified or extended.

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones pledged to “immediately appeal” the ruling in a Thursday evening statement.

“My office will immediately appeal the ruling issued by the Tazewell County Circuit Court,” Jones said. “These arguments are already before the Supreme Court of Virginia, the proper forum to consider the arguments, which has set a schedule for receiving arguments and has justifiably allowed the vote to proceed during this time.”

The legal challenge marks the latest turn in a months-long battle over a mid-decade redistricting amendment advanced by Democratic lawmakers earlier this year.

The GOP injunction, filed Wednesday in Tazewell County Circuit Court, sought emergency relief to stop state and local election officials from moving forward with the planned vote while the case is litigated.

The action follows last week’s ruling by the Supreme Court of Virginia allowing that the vote can proceed while the court reviews an appeal of the lower court’s ruling from last month that struck down the underlying redistricting amendment as unlawful.

In an expedited move, the state’s high court said its order “has no effect on the referendum scheduled for April 21, 2026,” clearing the way for voters to decide the fate of the proposal even as legal challenges continue.

But the plaintiffs argue that Democrats’ effort to fast-track the amendment violates the Virginia Constitution and amounts to an unlawful partisan power grab.

In the emergency motion, the plaintiffs asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Virginia’s commissioner of elections, members of the State Board of Elections, and several Tazewell County election officials. They contend the court should intervene immediately to “preserve the status quo” and prevent what they describe as “irreparable harm” before a hearing can be held.

Republicans hail injunction, renew claims amendment violates Constitution

Cline welcomed the ruling in a statement on Thursday.

“The Democrats’ unfair redistricting scheme is illegal. We are grateful that the court has agreed and swiftly applied justice to stop this unconstitutional power grab that would disenfranchise millions of Virginia voters by reassigning them members of Congress from other parts of the state,” Cline said. “This ruling is an important victory in our fight to make sure that politicians don’t get to select their own voters.”

In a joint statement, Virginia Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, and House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, called the ruling “a necessary step to protect Virginia voters from an illegal and rushed’ redistricting referendum.

“The Constitution sets clear rules for how amendments must be advanced. Those rules were not properly followed. Plain and simple. Virginians deserve transparency, fairness, and adherence to the law — not backroom deals,” they said.

RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said Wednesday that Democrats are attempting to “ram through” an illegal redistricting scheme that the Tazewell County court has already called “a blatant abuse” of power.

“Despite nearly half of Virginians supporting President Trump, Abigail Spanberger and Democrats are working to silence voters and lock in permanent political control,” Gruters said.

At issue is the proposed constitutional amendment  that — if approved by voters — would allow the legislature temporary power to launch a mid-decade overhaul of Virginia’s current congressional map.

Republicans argue the amendment process is procedurally flawed and constitutionally defective.

Under the Virginia Constitution, amendments must be approved by the General Assembly and then submitted to voters no sooner than 90 days after final passage. Republicans say the amendment received final passage Jan. 16, but Democrats scheduled early voting to begin March 6 — less than 90 days later — in violation of that requirement.

The lawsuit also challenges the ballot language approved by Democratic lawmakers, which states that the amendment would “restore fairness.”

Republicans argue that characterization is misleading, contending the amendment would replace Virginia’s current nonpartisan redistricting framework with a system that would “unduly favor” Democrats.

In addition, the complaint asserts that the amendment improperly combines multiple unrelated provisions, violating the Virginia Constitution’s single-subject rule.

Alongside California, Virginia has become one of the Democrats’ best opportunities to gain U.S. House seats in the upcoming midterms through redistricting. Under the current map, Democrats hold a narrow 6-5 edge in Virginia’s congressional delegation. The proposed map would boost that advantage to 10-1.

President Donald Trump received 46% of the vote in Virginia in 2024, Republicans note, but they contend the new map would reduce GOP representation to roughly 9% of the delegation.

Republicans have also pointed to remarks made by Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger during the 2025 campaign, when she said, “I have no plans to redistrict Virginia.” They argue the current push undercuts that pledge.

Scott criticizes venue, vows reversal as GOP presses separate ballot challenge

Democrats reject those characterizations and say the referendum is proceeding lawfully.

House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, sharply criticized the ruling.

“Republicans ran back to the same judge – even though the law requires these cases to be filed in Richmond – in a second attempt to take this issue away from the voters. The Supreme Court of Virginia has already made clear that this matter will go to the voters, but Republicans unhappy with that ruling went back to their friendly judge. I am confident this will be overturned. Voters will decide this referendum,” Scott said.

Two additional Republican congressmen filed a suit in Richmond Circuit Court on Wednesday, seeking to block or revise the ballot language for the planned April 21 referendum on a proposed congressional redistricting amendment, arguing the wording is misleading and unconstitutional.

U.S. Reps. John McGuire, R-Goochland, and Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland, challenge the language approved for the ballot question, which asks voters whether the state Constitution should be amended “to restore fairness in the upcoming elections.”

They contend that the phrase is not neutral and violates state law requiring ballot questions to be accurate and impartial.

The complaint argues that describing the amendment as restoring “fairness” amounts to partisan advocacy and falsely suggests Virginia’s current congressional districts are unfair. The plaintiffs note that the existing districts were drawn by the Supreme Court of Virginia and say election results have closely reflected the statewide popular vote.

In his ruling, Hurley, the judge from Tazewell County, agreed with this characterization.

McGuire and Wittman also argue that the amendment would empower the General Assembly to draw congressional districts that could create a 10-to-1 partisan advantage and that the phrase “upcoming elections” is misleading because the amendment would apply beyond a single election cycle.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information from Tazewell County Circuit Court and statements from elected officials.

by Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury

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