Democrats’ bid to unfairly seize control of Virginia’s congressional map through partisan gerrymandering lasted less than 24 hours.
Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley quickly ruled Wednesday that Virginia’s redistricting referendum — which voters approved by a slim 51.5 to 48.5 percent margin the day before — is unconstitutional.
The judge declared all votes cast for or against it “ineffective” and blocked state officials from certifying the results or implementing the new maps.
In his written ruling, Hurley said the plaintiffs had an “extraordinarily high likelihood of success on the merits.”
He ruled on multiple constitutional violations, including that the referendum skipped a required 90-day public notice period and that the ballot language was “flagrantly misleading” — specifically the phrase “restore fairness,” which Hurley found could trick voters by implying that opposition to the amendment was unfair.
The Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and two Virginia Republican congressmen had filed suit requesting the emergency injunction.
“This is a major victory for Virginians,” RNC Chair Joe Gruters said. “Democrats attempted to force an unconstitutional scheme to tilt congressional maps in their favor, but the court recognized it for what it is — a blatant power grab.”
Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who has been involved in the legal fight against the referendum, celebrated on X after the ruling.
“The Tazewell Circuit Court just ruled the referendum unconstitutional. The Judge entered an injunction blocking certification of the election and denied a motion to stay pending appeal. A final order will be entered once drafted, and it will be immediately appealed,” Cuccinelli wrote.
Cuccinelli had previously outlined four separate constitutional challenges to the referendum before the ruling, and predicted, “The referendum gets tossed out in May.”
“They passed the first passage there in the middle of the 2025 election, actually after over a million people had voted,” Cuccinelli said. “They had to jump through and dodge so many constitutional norms.”
He added that the proposed maps themselves likely violate Virginia’s constitution, which requires every electoral district to be “composed of contiguous and compact territory.”
The Democrat-drawn maps created multiple districts stretching from the D.C. suburbs deep into the state’s interior — what critics called “tentacles from DC reaching across the state.”
Had the maps taken effect, Virginia’s congressional delegation would have shifted from a 6-5 Democratic edge to a 10-1 Democratic advantage.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, a Democrat, announced he will immediately appeal.
“Virginia voters have spoken, and an activist judge should not have veto power over the People’s vote,” Jones said.
President Donald Trump had already called the referendum result “rigged” on Truth Social, pointing to a late surge of mail-in ballots that flipped the race in Democrats’ favor.
“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!'” Trump wrote.
The Virginia Supreme Court is expected to have the final say. Cuccinelli told reporters he expects the justices to “move very fast” ahead of August congressional primaries.