Virginia judge blocks redistricting referendum from being certified

[pnwmom]

Source: ABC7

ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — A Virginia judge blocked the state from certifying the results of Tuesday's congressional map referendum, deeming the referendum and the bill that triggered it as unconstitutional, according to a judge's order issued Wednesday.

Virginia's current attorney general, Jay Jones, confirmed to 7News on Wednesday that his office would appeal the decision.


The order, according to officials, came from the Tazewell Circuit Court, which previously blocked the referendum after repeatedly deeming the vote and the resolution for the referendum unconstitutional, siding with Republicans who filed several suits.

Virginia voters on Tuesday narrowly advanced legislation to redraw the states Congressional maps, a move that could give Democrats 10 out of the 11 seats in the U.S. House. Currently, there are six Democrats and five Republicans representing the state.



Read more: https://wjla.com/news/local/virginia-congressional-map-redistricting-referendum-vote-attorney-general-tazewell-county-court-republicans-enjoins-injuctive-relief-voters-election-democrats-house-representatives

[VMA131Marine]

1. Partisan activist judge, obviously.

This will obviously go to the State Supreme Court.

[PuraVidaDreamin]

2. Hopefully well before November.

These asses are so exhausting.

I'm so exhausted that when I go to work, noticed that
I was wearing still wearing my slippers. (RN at Adult Day Health)
At least my feet were comfortable all day.

[pnwmom]

8. At least you didn't wear one brown shoe and one navy shoe

because you put them on in the dark.

[LoisB]

3. Wow!

[Deuxcents]

4. Why would this go as far as it did without legal scrutiny to make sure it's constitutional? They'll tie this up

In the courts because they don’t want the voters to have their say. TSF was ranting that it was rigged and blah, blah

[MadameButterfly]

40. There's been scrutiny ever since Texas began the whole thing

The ruling depends on what judge you get. The VA Supreme Court Justices all are listed as "nonpartisan".

There are good arguments for courts not approving this law. In that it is inherently unfair if you are only looking at Virginia. It's fair taken in the context of the gerrymandering going on nationally. I'm not sure state justices get to consider that. At least in a reasonable state with reasonable judges. The red states will have no problem with their justices saying ok to extreme gerrymandering.

[Lovie777]

5. Wrong move by GQPs...............

it will motive the masses to vote against them.

[SSJVegeta]

6. Lol

This guy is desperate

[LetMyPeopleVote]

7. Virginia court blocks voter-approved redistricting, appeal coming

There will be an appeal

WTF? THE PEOPLE IF VA VOTED 🤬🤬🤬
Virginia court blocks voter-approved redistricting, appeal coming - Democracy Docket share.google/bTbShobuTknZ...

— (Debbie)🐕🐈🐘🐼☕️🎶⚖️🌊 (@felicianmitzi.bsky.social) 2026-04-22T21:22:43.850Z

https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/virginia-court-blocks-voter-approved-redistricting-appeal-coming/

A Virginia judge temporarily halted the state’s newly approved congressional map — but state officials are already moving to try to overturn the ruling, setting up a rapid legal fight in the state’s Supreme Court.

In a decision issued Wednesday on a Republican lawsuit, a judge in Tazewell County ruled that the legislature’s constitutional amendment and the referendum voters just approved were invalid — a move that immediately blocks the state from implementing the new districts.

The court declared the amendment invalid from the start, and ordered that “any and all votes for or against the proposed constitutional amendment in the April 21, 2026 special election are ineffective.”

The judge also went further, issuing a permanent injunction — a legal order that blocks action going forward — preventing state officials from “certifying the results” and from taking “any actions to give effect to the proposed constitutional amendment.”

But despite the sweeping language, this ruling is far from the final word.

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones (D) moved immediately to challenge the decision, signaling a fast-track appeal that could quickly shift the case to higher courts.

[pnwmom]

10. Thanks! nt

[BumRushDaShow]

9. That's the same judge who tried blocking it TWICE before and got swatted down BOTH TIMES by the VA SC.

[SSJVegeta]

12. I think he's just bored

[BumRushDaShow]

13. Little fish in a big pond and will realize he's at the bottom of the food chain.

[SSJVegeta]

14. Yupp

[SamuelAdams]

18. Isn't is an embarrassment for a judge to be repeatedly overturned on appeal?

You would think he would eventually go along with the VA SC ruling.

[BumRushDaShow]

19. The judge is a GOP loon so "embarrassment " is not on their bingo card.

[samsingh]

27. thanks for the reminder - that's what i thought

it's a travesty that he gets paid by the taxpayer for being anything but a judge. he's a hack.

[Cha]

36. ENCOURAGING! TY BRDS!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

43. Wednesday's ruling was not Hurley's first attempt to stop the amendment.

Link to tweet

Wednesday's ruling was not Hurley's first attempt to stop the amendment. He issued similar rulings blocking the measure in January and again in February — and both times, the Virginia Supreme Court stepped in to allow the process to move forward while it considered the underlying legal questions.

See full statement from AG Jones below:

[Polybius]

60. Sadly, the third time was a charm.

[BumRushDaShow]

61. But the previous rulings were to allow the process to continue while considering the underlying merits

Once that was done, they did their final ruling.

It's just like the SCOTUS denying stays and allowing a process to continue until they get all the arguments before them, and finally decide what to do next, e.g. remand to a lower court or deciding to strike certain parts but agreeing to others. I didn't read the ruling (it's often harder to get copies of state court rulings versus federal and yesterday had a huge news dump of a bunch of stories, so it was a struggle to keep track).

[TomSlick]

11. Entirely predictable.

The Virginia Supreme Court was going to hear this one way or another.

[maxsolomon]

15. Tazewell County, pop. 40,452.

No wonder the GOP went running back to Appalachia.

[Aristus]

23. So this motherfucker represents Mervis P. Dirtwater and his in-bred hillbilly clan?

Fuck...

[maxsolomon]

25. Well, I didn't say that. I would never impugn Appalachians who are clearly God's own people.

But it seems a reliable court to file in - the GOP does like to go Judge shopping.

Here is his honor:

https://ballotpedia.org/Jack_S._Hurley,_Jr.

He was appointed, not elected, 14 years ago. Doesn't sound like he's ever worked outside this county.

[Aristus]

26. So he has no experience with democracy?

He just judges according to the diktats of the local Boss Hogg?

[Maeve]

32. Thank you for the defense

Have a friend who says if you disparage the people (or pronounce the mountains' name wrong) he'll throw an apple at ya.
Someone will get that....

[oldsoldierfadingfast]

35. From this old ...

Foothills of Apple at ya gal - I got it with no problem!
AND That Apple at ya judge ain't no Jay Jones!!!

[Karasu]

16. Oh, please...and we're supposed to believe it wasn't unconstitutional when Texas started this shit by FORCING their

redistricting through without even letting the public vote on it?

You know, like fascists do?

[BumRushDaShow]

20. And the media REFUSES to make that point

They continue to give Abbott a pass.

[Karasu]

48. Which is REALLY infuriating.

[Delphinus]

17. How?

The people voted - this, to me, is quite scary.

[Polybius]

24. Although I disagree with the judge's decision, "the people voted" bears no relevance to what judges look at

Remember Proposition 187 and Proposition 8 in California? The people voted for that too, and they were both struck down. Here in Staten Island, the people also voted for SI succession.

[pcdb]

44. There appears to be two problems

1.) the state violated the 90-day public notice between the legislative approval and the start of voting.

2.) the wording of the amendment is misleading "Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections,"

Gerrymandering isn't synonymous with "restore fairness"

[AllyCat]

45. These things are always misleading.

Wisconsin does not have ballot initiatives. The GOP has put forth “Constitutional amendments” every election that are worded so badly, even seasoned political junkies struggle to understand what a yes or no vote means.

That hardly seems like a reason to throw this out, even if it’s in another state.

[cstanleytech]

53. Why not say that it's to allow or bring fairness instead?

[Aristus]

21. God-DAMN, that was a short-lived victory...

[paleotn]

31. Is said judge god? Nope. Courage, Aristus.

It's on auto-appeal. It was expected to end up the VA supreme court anyway.

[Aristus]

33. Thank you for the pat on the back.

It's so hard not to despair these days. Seems we can't eke out even a single substantive win. Polls show 'its' support crashing. But it doesn't do us any good. He got his second term, and he means to make the worst of it. All the carefully-calculated, prime-time-ready remorse among his former followers isn't going to stop his next atrocity.

Your optimism is why I'm still here at DU after twenty-five years. May it ever be thus.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

38. It was expected. This judge has been reversed several times.

The Virginia Supreme Court was holding off looking at the case until after the vote. This is where the fight it.

[DoBW]

22. here's more

NEW: A republican judge has blocked the redistricting effort in Virginia, invalidating yesterday's vote. But it's a pause, not a defeat. Read more here: www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.com) 2026-04-22T21:25:08.973Z

[Cha]

39. TY.. I always like to see what Alison

Gill has to say.

[Keepthesoulalive]

28. It was expected

Not a big deal. They are going to appeal.

[Cha]

41. Hope Dems Win the Appeal!

[Keepthesoulalive]

50. I hope so also

But we will keep fighting. We are damned determined to beat these monsters, we we will never give up.

[Cha]

51. That's the Spirit! 💙💔☮️🌻🕯️🕊️💜

[NoMoreRepugs]

29. When you're a dick you're a dick.

[paleotn]

30. Can you say insta-appeal?!

VA AG was ready and waiting for this.

Tazwell County. I've been there. It's BF Egypt on steroids. Only surpassed in backwardness by Lee County. Nothing is as bad as Lee County. West Virginia perhaps, but it's close. The landscape is gorgious. The people on the other hand.

https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/virginia/virginia-ag-promises-to-fight-new-injunction-on-redistricting-referendum/291-0944a464-b2d7-4ea6-9979-56c35611f71b

[lostincalifornia]

34. What a piece of garbage that jackass judge is. He tried to block that redistricting initiative also, and that got

overturned by the Virginia Supreme Court. So hopefully the same thing will happen with this.

These are the most despicable people.

[Mysterian]

37. Fear not. Bumpkin judge will be quickly overruled.

Tazewell is shit-hole strip mine country.

[Polybius]

58. That post sadly didn't age very well :(

[AverageOldGuy]

42. Don't worry about it

The judge is a small-time magistrate in deep rural Tazewell County in Southwest Virginia -- coal country.

When the redistricting referendum was proposed, the blocked it, Democrats sued, the State Supreme Court slapped him down.

His ruling will be overturned.

[Boo1]

46. Exactly correct

Just a political hack trying to make a name to run for another office one day.

This will be overturned and the certification complete within days.

[SouthBayDem]

47. ABC7 in DC is a Sinclair station, it should be added.

WJLA used to be co-owned with Politico before being bought by Sinclair in 2014.

[pnwmom]

52. The story is factual, but thanks for the info about the station.

We have one in Seattle, too. There are more than 100 across the country.

[3825-87867]

49. So just do what Texass did...

rule in the Va Congress just as Abbott did in Texass.
Then let the Heritage Asses try to fight that.

[LiberalArkie]

54. The GOP sure does know how to play the long game

Something we need to develop

[SSJVegeta]

55. I call it the "postponing the inevitable" game

But yeah: they play it well

[travelingthrulife]

56. More bs from bad judges.

[lees1975]

57. Word is that it will be overturned.

It was vetted long before it was introduced.

[Polybius]

59. I thought it would be too

But it was upheld today.