Virginia’s mid-decade congressional map effort was halted by a Tazewell County circuit judge who said lawmakers didn’t follow the basic procedural rules for putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot. The state legislature’s bid to install a new congressional map by constitutional amendment advanced in late October when the General Assembly, meeting in special session, approved a measure to permit enactment of a mid-decade redistricting congressional map effective for the 2026 mid-term election. A second passage was required in the 2026 session before the map could go to a voter referendum, which was completed on January 16.
Republicans in Virginia promptly sued, and on January 27th, a Tazewell County circuit judge ruled that lawmakers didn’t follow the basic procedural rules for putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot. In plain terms, the court found three problems: first, the General Assembly used an ongoing special session that hadn’t been called for redistricting to pass the measure; second, legislators scheduled a spring 2026 referendum without meeting a longstanding statute that requires proposed constitutional amendments to be published for public inspection at least 90 days before the vote; and third, the “first passage” of the amendment wasn’t completed before the 2025 general election because early voting was already underway when the chamber voted, so it failed the constitutional requirement that passage occur both before and after a general election. The ruling blocks the measure from appearing on the 2026 ballot unless the process is restarted; Democrats have filed an appeal.
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