Purge the Courts, VA Progressives Say

The great gerrymandering race of 2026 is still well underway with California, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, and Florida all gearing up with new maps this year. Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi could also have new congressional maps by November after the Supreme Court’s ruling against racial gerrymandering.But national news was made last week when the Supreme Court of Virginia issued a 4-3 ruling striking down Democrats’ 10-1 congressional redistricting referendum that passed on April 21. The majority opinion was written by Justice D. Arthur Kelsey, whose term expires in January 2027 – a fact that made the ruling politically consequential, given that Virginia’s General Assembly elects state Supreme Court justices.

The ruling said what many independent legal experts had been claiming this entire time: The Democrats rushed the constitutional process and set up a voting referendum with improper procedures. Not only that, the language of the referendum was purposefully misleading. And after spending more than $70 million to campaign on this new map in Virginia, the Supreme Court of Virginia has already struck it down.

Since the ruling, Virginia Democrats have filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to halt the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision and revive the redistricting measure before the 2026 midterms.