- Today
- Holidays
- Birthdays
- Reminders
- Cities
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Baltimore
- Berwyn
- Beverly Hills
- Birmingham
- Boston
- Brooklyn
- Buffalo
- Charlotte
- Chicago
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Fort Worth
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Knoxville
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Louisville
- Madison
- Memphis
- Miami
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis
- Nashville
- New Orleans
- New York
- Omaha
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Pittsburgh
- Portland
- Raleigh
- Richmond
- Rutherford
- Sacramento
- Salt Lake City
- San Antonio
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- Seattle
- Tampa
- Tucson
- Washington
Virginia Court Blocks Democrats' Mid-Decade Redistricting Effort
Ruling finds proposed amendment unconstitutional due to procedural violations
Jan. 28, 2026 at 12:07pm
Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›
A court in Tazewell County, Virginia has ruled that a proposed constitutional amendment allowing for mid-decade redistricting of congressional boundaries is unconstitutional. The court found that the state's Democratic lawmakers violated their own procedural rules, exceeded the scope of a special legislative session, and failed to comply with requirements for amending the Virginia Constitution when passing the amendment.
Why it matters
This ruling is a significant victory for Republican leaders in Virginia, as it blocks the Democrats' effort to redraw congressional maps outside of the typical 10-year redistricting cycle. The decision raises questions about the legality of the Democrats' accelerated timeline and whether they followed proper procedures.
The details
The Tazewell County court ruled that the redistricting amendment, which was set to go before Virginia voters in April, was unconstitutional. The judge stated that lawmakers violated their own rules, exceeded the scope of the special session, and failed to comply with requirements for constitutional amendments.
- The General Assembly passed the redistricting amendment during a special legislative session just days before the November 4 election.
- The amendment was set to go before the public in a vote scheduled for April 2026.
The players
John Fishwick
Former U.S. District Attorney and owner of Fishwick & Associates Law Firm, who said the ruling is a significant victory for Republican leaders.
Virginia General Assembly
The state legislature that passed the proposed redistricting amendment, which the court has now ruled unconstitutional.
What they’re saying
“What the judge in Tazewell basically said is 'General Assembly, you have certain rules that you have to follow if you're going to have a constitutional amendment put before the public, and you, General Assembly, didn't follow your own internal rules on doing this. You went on a very accelerated time schedule. As a result of that kind of acceleration, you didn't follow your own rules. So therefore, I don't think that this should be on the ballot in April,'”
— John Fishwick, Former U.S. District Attorney and owner of Fishwick & Associates Law Firm
“I think the strongest issue that the republican party has in the challenge is that when this budget special session was set up, they then, after the fact, added that redistricting was going to be part of that special session, and they didn't have a two thirds of the members of the General Assembly vote to do that,”
— John Fishwick, Former U.S. District Attorney and owner of Fishwick & Associates Law Firm
What’s next
Democrats have stated that they plan to appeal the court's decision, putting the ruling in the hands of the Virginia Supreme Court.
The takeaway
This ruling highlights the partisan battles over redistricting in Virginia, with Republicans successfully challenging the Democrats' efforts to redraw congressional maps outside of the normal 10-year cycle. The case now heads to the state's highest court, where Democrats face an uphill battle to get the amendment on the April ballot.
