Virginia political leaders are reacting with starkly different perspectives after the state’s Supreme Court struck down the voter-approved congressional redistricting plan in favor of Democrats. Friday’s decision means the result of the April 21 special election will not take effect, leaving the 6-5 congressional maps as is.
Former Republican Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares called the decision a victory for the rule of law, while Democrat Trish White-Boyd, who led redistricting efforts, expressed disappointment and concern over broader national implications.
Miyares: ‘A win for the rule of law’
Miyares praised the ruling, arguing the original redistricting effort would have unfairly benefited Democrats.
“This was not a partisan ruling, it was a win for common sense and saying that we have to follow the rule of law — if you’re gonna amend the constitution you can’t do it illegally,” Miyares said.
Miyares added that Virginia’s current congressional maps — which are split 6-5 — have been recognized as among the fairest in the country.
“At the end of the day we’re gonna go back to a map that we currently have in Virginia that nonpartisan observers have said is the fairest map in the entire country — it reflects communities of interest,” he said.
“Politicians should not be picking their voters, voters should be picking their politicians,” Miyares added.
White-Boyd: Court ‘failed to reflect what voters wanted’
White-Boyd, who served as senior advisor for Virginians for Fair Elections, said she was blindsided by the court’s decision.
“I was shocked. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” she said.
White-Boyd argued the ruling carries implications well beyond Virginia, as states across the country implement or consider redistricting ahead of the midterm elections.
“This referendum was for the entire country to bring back balance of power, and so far that has not happened, and with this ruling it may or may not happen,” White-Boyd said.
She expressed frustration that the court did not appear to reflect the will of Virginia voters.
“We just felt like the Supreme Court would answer to the voters who said we wanted this map drawn the way it was, and they didn’t do that, so I was very disappointed,” White-Boyd said.
“We were concerned about all of America, and we thought this would give us an opportunity to level the playing field,” she added.
National redistricting landscape
The Virginia ruling comes as several states across the country have already redrawn their congressional maps ahead of the midterms.
States including Texas, Missouri, Ohio, and North Carolina have implemented new congressional maps that add up to nine additional Republican seats. In California, Democrats gained five seats, and one additional seat in Utah, for a total of six new Democratic seats.
While the Supreme Court ruling is final, the debate over redistricting is far from over as multiple states look to redraw their maps ahead of the midterm elections.