A congressional map approved by Virginia voters aimed at helping Democrats pick up four U.S. House seats in the November midterm elections faces another legal hurdle just a day after its passage.
A judge in rural southern Virginia on Wednesday ordered that Tuesday’s vote results not be certified, citing a variety of reasons, including that state lawmakers failed to follow their own rules when passing redistricting referendums. Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley also called the language provided to voters on the ballot “blatantly misleading.”
Hurley prohibited state election officials from changing districts or continuing to use new maps.
The fate of Virginia’s referendum has been decided by the state Supreme Court, which upheld Hurley’s previous ruling on the eve of the referendum and allowed Tuesday’s vote to proceed before deciding the merits of the case. The case remains before the state Supreme Court.
State Attorney General Jay Jones said his office plans to immediately appeal Hurley’s ruling Wednesday.
Andrea Gaines, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Elections, said state officials are aware of the ruling and are “reviewing its impact on state board certification.”
Fair Elections Virginia, which helped lead the campaign in support of the referendum, said in a statement that voters “knew exactly what was on the ballot and they chose yes.”
“Republicans lost,” the group said. “Now they’re trying to overturn the will of the voters in court and trying to re-litigate an election they can’t win.”
Virginia narrowly approved new maps, giving Democrats an advantage in 10 of the state’s 11 U.S. House seats, a major victory for the party in the redistricting battles that have swept the country since last summer.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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