RNC Files Emergency Lawsuit to Block Virginia’s April Vote on Illegal Mid-Decade Redistricting
The Republican National Committee has filed an emergency lawsuit in Tazewell County Circuit Court Wednesday, seeking to halt a special April referendum in Virginia that would allow for mid-decade redrawing of congressional districts. The lawsuit claims the proposed amendment violates Article XII of the Virginia Constitution and could dramatically shift the balance of power in the U.S. House.
The RNC, joined by the National Republican Congressional Committee and GOP Representatives Ben Cline and Morgan Griffith of Virginia, argues the amendment process fails to meet constitutional requirements. According to the complaint, the amendment was not passed in compliance with the required intervening-election procedure and the ballot language differs from what lawmakers approved.
“Virginia Democrats are trying to ram through an illegal redistricting scheme that a court has already called a blatant abuse of power,” said RNC Chair Joe Gruters in a statement. “Despite nearly half of Virginians supporting President Donald Trump, Governor Abigail Spanberger and Democrats are working to silence voters and lock in permanent political control. They’re ignoring the state Constitution, misleading voters, and rushing a sham election.”
Under Virginia’s constitution, a proposed amendment must pass the General Assembly in two separate sessions with an intervening general election between votes before being submitted to voters. The RNC contends that requirement was not properly satisfied and that the April referendum is scheduled prematurely.
The lawsuit also challenges House Bill 1384, which schedules the April 21 special election and provides $5 million in funding for it, arguing early voting begins March 6—a timeframe plaintiffs claim violates constitutional requirements.
According to the complaint, the proposed amendment would strip authority from the Virginia Redistricting Commission established by voters in 2020 to oversee nonpartisan map-drawing and return that power to the Democrat-controlled General Assembly. Democrat leaders argue the amendment would “restore fairness” to Virginia’s congressional maps by addressing partisan imbalances ahead of upcoming elections, with ballot language asking voters whether the Constitution should be amended to allow temporary congressional district adjustments for “restoring fairness in the upcoming elections.”
The dispute unfolds amid a national trend of mid-decade redistricting efforts. Although congressional maps are typically redrawn only after the decennial census, lawmakers in states like Texas and California have pursued outside-the-cycle redistricting as partisan control of the U.S. House has tightened.
In Virginia, the proposed amendment could flip as many as four Republican-held seats in the state’s 11-member U.S. House delegation—potentially creating a 10-1 Democrat majority from the current 6-5 Republican edge. With U.S. House control often decided by narrow margins, even a few shifts in Virginia could carry outsized implications for midterm elections.
