RICHMOND, VA – The Virginia Supreme Court has struck down the Commonwealth’s redistricting referendum.
In a sweeping 46-page decision, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled the General Assembly did not follow the required constitutional process when it put the redistricting amendment before voters.
“The Virginia Supreme Court said you rushed this, you didn’t follow proper procedures,” Former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia John Fishwick said.
We sat down with Fishwick to go over the landmark opinion. The court writing, “This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void.”
“An election had to take place between when it was proposed and when it was approved. And so they said, ‘You did not follow those procedures, and therefore the election should never have taken place,’” Fishwick said.
The decision means the millions of votes cast in April are now void - despite voters narrowly approving the amendment just weeks ago.
“The proposed congressional districts are out the window. They’re null and void the Virginia Supreme Court said today [Friday], so we are back to where we were in 2021,” he said.
The close 4-3 split also shows just how divided the court was on whether the referendum should stand.
“I think the fact that it’s so split, and really there’s a little snippiness between the justices describing their position. I think we would’ve been better off 7-0 as opposed to 4-3,” Fishwick said.
Attorney General Jay Jones, responding to the court’s opinion saying in part, “This decision silences the voices of the millions of virginians WHO cast their ballots in every corner of the Commonwealth, and it fuels the growing fears across our nation about the state of our democracy.”
Jones went on to say his team is evaluating every legal pathway forward, but Fishwick says there may not be a pathway.
“I think this is the end of the legal options. The United States Supreme Court would not take up this case. This deals with just Virginia’s, our own constitution, there’s not a federal or national constitutional question here,” he said.
Supporters of the lawsuit are praising the decision.
Ninth district Congressman Morgan Griffith saying in part, " I believe they decided correctly and set aside the redistricting efforts by the state legislature. I commend the supreme court for its diligence and fortitude."
You can read more responses from lawmakers here.