Virginia Supreme Court strikes down redistricting push in blow to Democrats

CNBC ^ | May 8 2026 | Justin Papp

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down the state’s recently passed redistricting referendum, dealing a massive blow to Democrats who hoped to gain several seats from new House maps.

The redistricting ballot measure passed by three percentage points in late April in what was seen at the time as a major win for Democrats, who stood to gain as many as four seats from redrawn maps ahead of the November midterms.

The Virginia Supreme Court decision comes amid an ongoing partisan gerrymandering war and as Republican-led states across the South are working to redraw their House districts after a pivotal Supreme Court decision that weakened part of the Voting Rights Act.

“We respect the court. But we will keep fighting for a democracy where voters — not politicians — have the final say. Because in Virginia, power still belongs to the people,” Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Don Scott, a Democrat, said in a statement after the ruling.

President Donald Trump, who has urged GOP-led states to draw more favorable maps in an attempt to hold a slim House majority, celebrated the decision, while Democrats vowed to assess their options.

“Huge win for the Republican Party, and America, in Virginia. The Virginia Supreme Court has just struck down the Democrats’ horrible gerrymander. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!,” Trump posted on TruthSocial.

The court ruled that the state proposed a constitutional amendment to allow partisan gerrymandering in an “unprecedented manner.”

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TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Extended News; Government; Politics/Elections; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: cnbc; commieshasthesads; democratshasthesads; gerrymandering; justinpapp; nobrainscollectively; racism; redistricting; spanberger; tds; unconstitutional; virginia

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

I posted (pretty much) the same article but with a slightly different title (from CNBC). I wanted it to appear on the sidebar. If I try to add "extended" as a topic on your thread FR won't allow it.

[Sicon]

in blow to Democrats

But a boon to actual Constitutional representation.

Not that representation means much when almost all of our "representation" is a bunch of corrupt, self-serving parasites.

[Paladin2]

Spanburger is proven to be a Witch?

[Olog-hai]

“We respect the court. But we will keep fighting for a democracy where voters — not politicians — have the final say. Because in Virginia, power still belongs to the people,” Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Don Scott, a Democrat, said in a statement after the ruling. …

Sorry, Don: We are a republic, not a democracy. Fighting to turn the republic into a democracy (socialist state) is treason.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

Clay travis says there is a crazy woman ranting outside the VA supreme court building. I can’t find that video.

[frank ballenger]

Giving that wretch Spanberger more lines in her face. A shame. /S

[frank ballenger]

Exactly right.

In the movie based on the nonfiction book I Was A Communist For the FBI (1951) on the undercover years of agent Matt Cevic, the secret communists in the US working to undermine us said to recruits: “Keep using the term ‘democracy’. Use ‘democracy’ as often as you can. It appeals to Americans and keeps our side going.” Another ploy was to start with unions on strike and get people out into the streets in riots.

[Retain Mike]

Yep. There is a problem. Article 4, Section 4 of the Costitution says, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government”

[omni-scientist]

This in no way favors Republicans keeping the House in the wake of the mid-terms. We must understand the power of turn-out and stay focused, because without that, we can easily lose the majority. Some of these new districts, carved from previously Democrat districts by absorption, may have a smaller R majority margin which makes them vulnerable to an engaged, motivated opposition.

All of us here must turn out to vote in November. And since you can only vote in your own district, reach into your pockets and donate to other candidates who are in toss-up districts.

[Olog-hai]

Absolutely agree there. And it should be the United States acting to make that guarantee more concrete, especially these days.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

On the other hand, it’s possible dems will be discouraged. I agree we should not assume that we don’t need to vote.

[Olog-hai]

The commies were using the term “democracy” way back in the 1840s. The reason why democracy and socialism are “one and the same”, as Woodrow Wilson infamously pointed out, is that democracy gives the legislature and executive “absolute power to make whatever laws they please” (as Dan Smoot pointed out), the exact opposite of the intent of our republic.

[traderrob6]

“weakened part of the Voting Rights Act.”....No it restricted “certain parts” of the Voting Rights Act due to it’s blatant unconstitutuonality!

[Chewbarkah]

The Democrats had to know that the way they produced this referendum violated the Virginia Constitution, etc., and would be nixed by the Virginia SC. So why did they go through the motions and expense for what they knew would fail? There is even the appearance that they had to cheat in NOVA to “win” the vote count, potentially exposing their absentee-harvesting methods.

1) They hoped to get by with the gerrymandering until the Nov elections were a done deal?
2) They wanted to tie up Republican resources?
3) They wanted to test the Republican and Independent strength in another off election so they could declare them dead?
3) Wanted an ultimately meaningless contest to “use up” the Republicans’ desire to avenge defeat in the 2025 elections. Having already expressed themselves, fewer R’s will be loaded for bear in Nov 2026?

Fortunately the Dems made themselves look like the crooked cheats they are. I hope the Republican Party “leaders” learned some things (I know I did) about the importance of getting their voters to flood in the abseetee ballots, the need to get so-called Independents (who mostly seem to be R-leaning) to vote, the necessity of watching/challenging what the Dems are up to in NoVa.

Did Dems facilitate their supporters absentee voting, did they pay them to request absentee ballots, did they print absentee ballots, fill them out, and bring them in wholesale, or ?

[chuck allen]

This needs to be breaking news!

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

VA supreme court voted 4-3 to invalidate the vote to amend the VA constitution. Taking into account other recent events, I hope dems don’t resort to assassinations again.

[j.havenfarm]

My view: they knew no such thing. Democrats follow the rules when it suits them, and ignore them when they don’t. That’s the shallow extent of their analysis. They figured they could just bulldoze this thing through

[adorno]

We respect the court. But we will keep fighting for a democracy where voters — not politicians — have the final say.

That sounds opposite to what democrats were trying to do in Virginia. It was the politicians who were fighting to steal seats from the republicans, NOT THE PEOPLE. The courts are doing the people's work; the politicians were working against the people.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

SCOTUS ruled 6-3 that raced-based gerrymandering is unconstitutional but apparently political gerrymandering is OK. I don’t like political gerrymandering either, but it’s harder to prove. How can New England have 40% R but zero R representatives? Political gerrymandering. Look at the Illinois map.

[P8riot]

Hopefully enough of my fellow Virginians who were going to be disenfranchised by this boondoggle will be pissed off enough to vote the RATs out, but given the April 21 turnout I have my doubts.