Virginia Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle and Republican National Committee election integrity communications director Ally Triolo said they are optimistic that Virginia’s state Supreme Court will block a newly approved referendum that could dramatically reshape the Commonwealth’s congressional map.
The April 21 referendum, which narrowly passed, would allow Democrats to redraw Virginia’s 11 congressional districts in a way that could increase their current 6-5 majority to as many as 10-1. Under the measure, redistricting authority would shift from Virginia’s bipartisan Redistricting Commission to the Democrat-controlled Legislature for the next decade.
McDougle, who serves as legislative head of the redistricting commission and is lead plaintiff in the lawsuit before the state high court, stated a lower court ruled in favor of Republicans on key constitutional grounds.
“The trial court ruled in our favor on three counts,” McDougle said during an interview with “Rob Schmitt Tonight.” “One was that notice was not given to local clerks of court by the clerk of the House of Delegates. Two, that we were in special session when the original referendum vote was taken by the Legislature and that special session should never have existed, because there was an intervening regular session.”
He added a third argument centered on timing requirements for constitutional amendments. “There has to be an intervening election,” McDougle explained. “This was done five days before the election actually occurred on Election Day, but over a million Virginians had already voted. Those three reasons should be enough for the court to rule that this was not done constitutionally.”
Triolo characterized the referendum as a partisan power grab, noting it would undermine fair representation. “We know this is a partisan power grab,” she said. “We went from Virginia arguably having the most fair districts in all of the nation to the 10-to-1 split. Carving up communities … we know these districts are not representative of Virginians.”
On April 22, Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley ruled in favor of Republicans in a separate lawsuit, declaring the amendment and enabling legislation “void ab initio” due to multiple constitutional violations. Hurley found the amendment violated state constitutional requirements for amendments, including the mandate that two legislative approvals be separated by a House of Delegates election—a requirement that cannot occur until 2027. He also determined lawmakers failed to follow statutory procedures, such as public notice and timing rules.
McDougle expressed confidence the high court would uphold the lower court’s ruling. “Special sessions cannot go on in perpetuity like this one did,” he said. “I think they’re going to rule that this is unconstitutional.”
Triolo noted the Republican National Committee has committed millions of dollars to the legal battle and will continue fighting the measure. “We have poured millions of dollars into this legal fight … and we look forward to seeing a decision soon,” she added.
The article also notes that voting districts are typically redrawn once every decade following each census. However, President Donald Trump triggered an unusual mid-decade redistricting effort last year when he urged Texas Republicans to redraw House districts to gain an edge in midterm elections. California Democrats reciprocated, and similar efforts soon spread across the country.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
