The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday tossed out a congressional redistricting referendum passed by Virginia voters last month, striking a blow to Democrats hoping to gain a more favorable map and increase their number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The decision overturns voters’ approval of a new congressional map that would have given Democrats an advantage in 10 House districts, leaving just one safe Republican seat. Although both of Virginia’s U.S. senators are Democrats, its House delegation is split with six Democratic representatives and five Republicans.
“We hold that the legislative process employed to advance this proposal violated Article XII, Section 1 of the Constitution of Virginia,” the opinion says. The court found that the commonwealth had “submitted a proposed constitutional amendment to Virginia voters in an unprecedented manner that violated the intervening-election requirement.”
“This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void,” the court ruled.
Under Virginia law, before a constitutional amendment can be put before the voters, it must be approved by the General Assembly twice, with an election for the House of Delegates between the two votes.
In this case, the court noted, voting in the general election for the House of Delegates began on Sept. 19, 2025, and ended on Election Day, on Nov. 4, 2025. The General Assembly’s vote on proposing the redistricting amendment to Virginia voters took place on Oct. 31, and by then, about 40% — or more than 1.3 million Virginians — had already cast their ballots.
The court determined that the redistricting amendment process in this case deprived those 1.3 million voters of their constitutionally protected “opportunity to elect the House of Delegates that will participate in the second legislative vote on the proposed amendment.”
One person and two dogs were rescued from a fire at a multifamily home in San Francisco’s Mission District late Monday night, firefighters said. The San Francisco Fire Department said crews responded…
The United States is moving closer to bringing back civilian supersonic passenger flights over the continental US, with the Department of Transportation announcing a regulatory overhaul that could end a ban that…
Democratic socialists struck another blow against the Democratic establishment on Tuesday in Colorado, where CNN’s Decision Desk projects that 29-year-old Melat Kiros will defeat incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette, who was first elected…
A parasite that causes explosive, watery diarrhea has sickened 145 people across 20 US states, prompting an ongoing investigation by federal and state health officials into the source of the outbreak. According…
A furry case of mistaken identity occurred this week after a Sonoma County resident discovered what they thought was a baby otter in their backyard. Sonoma County Animal Services said its officers…
For years, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has pushed ethnic minority groups like Tibetans and Uyghurs to adopt an identity rooted in Chinese nationality and allegiance to the ruling Communist Party. Now, that…
Beijing has set up more than 100 so-called overseas police stations across the globe to monitor, harass and in some cases repatriate Chinese citizens living in exile, using bilateral security arrangements struck…
On Tuesday, the heat wave begins in the Philadelphia region with a more manageable high temperature of 92 degrees. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are the dangerously hot days. Highs range from…
A former Alaskan town mayor who was once named a “parent of the year” has been charged with dozens of child sex crimes. Longtime Chevak Mayor Ulric Jeffery Ulroan, 48, was arrested…
A rare and potentially fatal tick-borne illness currently spreading across the United States can be traced back to a 1958 case involving a young boy on a farm. The disease, known as…
Fire crews in western Broward County are continuing battle a new wildfire that ignited in the Florida Everglades over the weekend. The Atlantic Fire, which is burning west of Sunrise, Coral Springs…
Leaf through a textbook, watch a wellness influencer or listen in at the gym, and it can feel as though the human body has already been mapped to exhaustion. Every muscle named,…
After a line of storms moves through the state Tuesday morning, Minnesota will be left with another hot and humid day. Those storms started in southern Minnesota and are moving northeast. WCCO…
Heavy mountain snow is now giving way to powerful winds across the Northern Rockies, with up to 16 inches forecast in Montana’s Anaconda Pintler range and gusts up to 55 mph expected…
The South Park Game Preserve has welcomed its third baby bison of 2026. The Friends of the South Park Buffalo Preserve Facebook group announced on Sunday that 5-year-old Crimson, daughter of Violet, has become…
France saw around 1,000 additional deaths last week at the height of its record-smashing heat wave, the country’s public health agency said Sunday, as the head of the World Health Organization warned…
A Sherman Oaks neighborhood is thanking their unexpected hero after a 13-year-old boy sprang into action when he noticed a fire in the middle of the night, saving them from a possible…
A Chinese political dissident who fled to South Korea last month in a dinghy has arrived in Canada, his friend said on social media Saturday. Dong Guangping was aboard a 10.8-foot inflatable…
The number of deaths in France linked to the heatwave has climbed to four toddlers and more than 55 drownings, as the brutally hot conditions sweeping Europe were forecast to shift east,…
A prosecutor has been found in civil contempt after making comments on the strength of the murder case against Tyler Robinson, the man accused of shooting and killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk. …