Virginia Democrats appeal to U.S. Supreme Court to save new House maps 39%
By Gregory S. Schneider0% Teo Armus0%
5/11/2026, 9:18:38 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 30 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Emotion, Availability Heuristic, and Pessimism Bias, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 13% saturation with 114 hits. Analysis detected 1,117 faulty-reasoning hits from 878 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 44.3% and a BS Rank of 39% (10,323 of 16,813 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 61.40% of the article peer group.
Virginia Democrats filed an emergency appeal to the U.S.
Supreme Court on Monday in a last-ditch attempt to save redrawn congressional maps that could send four extra Democrats to the U.S.
House, arguing that the state’s high court improperly overturned a redistricting referendum last week.
The appeal, filed by the Democratic Party of Virginia and the state’s Democratic congressional delegation, asks the justices to intervene before the November midterm elections.
It argues that the Virginia Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision last week to invalidate the maps violated the state constitution and federal law.
The maps, approved by voters in a nonbinding referendum in April, would have created four new Democratic-leaning districts in the Richmond and Hampton Roads areas, potentially flipping the state’s congressional delegation from a 6-6 split to 10-6 in Democrats’ favor.
But the state court ruled that the referendum was unconstitutional because it was not properly advertised and because the maps were drawn by a bipartisan commission that included non-legislators.
The court ordered the General Assembly to draw new maps by the end of the year.
Democrats argue that the state court’s decision was a “judicial power grab” that undermined the will of voters and violated the Voting Rights Act.
They say the Supreme Court should step in to prevent “irreparable harm” to the democratic process.
“Virginia voters made their voices heard loud and clear in April, and the Supreme Court of Virginia has now silenced them,” said Susan Swecker, chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia.
“We are asking the U.S.
Supreme Court to restore the maps that reflect the will of the people.”
Some top Virginia Democrats expressed little hope that the appeal will affect this November’s congressional elections and instead will focus on running in existing districts.
“I don’t think there’s any realistic chance the Supreme Court will take this up before the election,” said state Sen.
Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), who chairs the Senate Democratic Caucus.
“We’re going to have to run in the current maps.”
The appeal comes as Democrats nationwide are grappling with redistricting battles that could determine control of the House.
In Virginia, the maps were a rare bright spot for Democrats, who control the state legislature and governorship.
The bipartisan commission that drew the maps included former governors and other non-legislators, as required by a 2020 constitutional amendment approved by voters.
The commission’s work was hailed as a model for reducing partisan gerrymandering.
But Republicans challenged the maps in court, arguing that the commission overstepped its authority and that the referendum was improperly conducted.
The state Supreme Court agreed, ruling that the commission could only propose maps and that the legislature had to approve them.
The court’s decision was a blow to Democrats, who had hoped the maps would help them maintain their House majority.
Virginia’s delegation is currently split 6-6, with Democrats holding a slim majority in the state legislature.
Democrats say the state court’s ruling was politically motivated and that the justices ignored the clear intent of voters.
They point to the overwhelming support for the referendum, which passed with 65 percent of the vote.
“The Virginia Supreme Court has chosen politics over the people,” said Rep.
Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.).
“Voters approved these maps by a landslide, and now the court is throwing them out on a technicality.”
Republicans welcomed the state court’s decision, saying it restored the constitutional balance of power.
“The court correctly ruled that the commission exceeded its authority,” said state Sen.
John J.
Schilling (R-Chesterfield).
“The legislature, not an unelected commission, has the power to draw congressional districts.”
The appeal to the U.S.
Supreme Court is unlikely to be resolved before the November elections, legal experts say.
The court’s term ends in June, and it typically does not take up emergency appeals during the summer.
Even if the court were to take up the case, it would likely not issue a ruling until after the election, said election law expert Rick Hasen.
“The Supreme Court is not going to want to get involved in a state redistricting dispute this close to the election,” Hasen said.
“They’ll probably let the state sort it out.”
Democrats say they are prepared to run in the current maps, which were drawn by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2021.
Those maps favor Republicans, but Democrats believe they can still win competitive races.
“We’re going to fight like hell in every district,” said Rep.
Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.).
“The maps aren’t ideal, but we’ve overcome worse odds before.”
The appeal represents the latest chapter in Virginia’s long-running redistricting saga.
The state has been a battleground for gerrymandering lawsuits since the 2010s, when Republicans drew maps that heavily favored their party.
In 2020, voters approved constitutional amendments to create independent redistricting commissions, hoping to end the cycle of partisan map-drawing.
But the commissions have struggled to reach agreement, and the legislature has had to step in.
The current fight over the congressional maps is likely to continue beyond November, with Democrats vowing to keep fighting for fairer districts.
“This is not the end of the road,” Swecker said.
“We will continue to fight for maps that reflect the diversity of Virginia and give every voter a fair chance to be heard.”
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