On Feb. 19, 2026, Chief Judge Jack Hurley of the Tazewell County Circuit Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking state and local election officials from moving forward with an April 21 statewide referendum that would let voters decide whether the General Assembly may adopt a new, mid-decade congressional map. The order, sought by the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and two GOP members of Congress, is effective until March 18 and could derail the vote because early in-person voting is scheduled to begin March 6. Judge Hurley agreed with the plaintiffs that the referendum’s timing and wording likely violate statutory requirements and said the case should be heard before the election proceeds.
Five days before the TRO, on Feb. 14, 2026, the Virginia Supreme Court allowed the same April referendum to stay on the calendar while it reviews Democrats’ appeal of an earlier circuit-court ruling that had declared the underlying constitutional amendment process invalid. The high court set an expedited briefing schedule extending into late April but declined to grant a stay, meaning the referendum could go forward absent further lower-court intervention.
Judge Hurley’s Feb 19th order is that “further intervention.” Because the TRO comes from a trial court that still has jurisdiction over the Republican lawsuit, it temporarily overrides the practical effect of the Supreme Court’s stay denial even though the justices are examining a related, earlier case. Unless the Supreme Court steps in again (or the TRO expires without extension), election officials must pause ballot printing and early-voting preparations. Read more at Cardinalnews.org
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