Republican congressmen sue Virginia over proposed redistricting

TAZEWELL, Va. (CN) — The Republican National Committee and two congressmen sued the Virginia Department of Elections on Wednesday in hopes of preventing a mid-decade redistricting effort from Democrats. 

The coalition, which filed suit in a southwest Virginia courthouse more than 200 miles from the state capital of Richmond, challenges the language of the ballot question Democrats propose. 

The proposed ballot question asks: "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, while ensuring Virginia's standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?"

The plaintiffs claim the question's partisan language misses the mark of what is acceptable to present to voters.

"It does not tell Virginia voters that the proposed amendment that they are considering strips them of their constitutional right to a nonpartisan redistricting process," the plaintiffs write in their brief. "The ballot question asserts a misleading statement — if not an obvious falsehood — that the proposed constitutional amendment contained in HJR 6007 'restores fairness.' If anything, it destroys fairness, is the product of unfairness and is intended to increase unfairness." 

In addition to the Republican National Committee, the plaintiffs include the National Republican Congressional Committee and Virginia-based Republican U.S. Representatives Ben Cline and Morgan Griffith. 

"Virginia Democrats are trying to ram through an illegal redistricting scheme that a court has already called a blatant abuse of power," National Republican Congressional Chairman Joe Gruters said. "Despite nearly half of Virginians supporting President Trump, 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. The RNC is stepping in to stop this power grab and defend Virginia voters who would be effectively disenfranchised by Democrats."

The motion for emergency injunctive relief and declaratory judgment comes as Virginia is set to begin early voting on the referendum March 6, with April 21 set as the final day of voting. 

"It does not 'restore fairness' to replace a nonpartisan redistricting process through an independent commission with a partisan one through a body that is made up of a majority of one political party," the plaintiffs say. "And it does not 'restore fairness' to submit a proposed constitutional amendment to Virginia voters that is a 'blatant abuse of power.'" 

It marks the second lawsuit filed in Tazewell attempting to halt the referendum. Tazewell County Circuit Judge Jack Hurley Jr. sided with Republican leadership in late January, ruling against the Democrats and the clerks of the General Assembly. Republicans argued Democrats circumvented legislative procedure when they began the redistricting effort in response to President Donald Trump's calls on states, including Texas and North Carolina, to redraw congressional maps to help elect more Republicans. Democrats claim the map will deliver four additional blue seats to Congress after the November midterm elections. 

Democrats appealed the ruling to the Virginia Supreme Court, which delivered a win for Democrats last week by punting any decision on the matter until after the election, making it difficult for the court to overrule. 

"Republicans are terrified of the ballot box. The Supreme Court of Virginia has already requested a briefing and approved the referendum going forward, as planned," Democratic Speaker of the House of Delegates Don Scott said. "This is yet another attempt to judge shop a complaint to a friendly venue after the Supreme Court refused their earlier efforts. Voters will decide this referendum."

The new plaintiffs differ in that they are criticizing the ballot question's language rather than focusing on procedural violations arising from the referendum's rushed timeline. The state constitution requires the General Assembly to give voters two opportunities to vote on representation before implementing any amendments. Democrats, who control both chambers, recalled legislators in October, where the amendment passed on party lines under the guise of a special session initially called in 2024 to correct a budgetary error.

The plaintiffs also assert that lawmakers violated provisions of the state constitution that require at least 90 days between the passage of the proposed amendment by the legislature and the beginning of voting. They claim the ballot question will confuse their voting base. 

Virginia voters approved an amendment to the constitution in 2020 that created an independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission consisting of eight members of the General Assembly and eight citizens. Democratic Delegate Rodney Willett pitched the constitutional amendment containing trigger language that would allow Virginia to modify congressional districts if another state modifies its districts for reasons other than a court order. 

The local Tazewell court will hold a hearing on the proposed injunction Thursday afternoon. Christopher Newport University released a poll in January indicating that the majority of voters prefer the current way Virginia redistricts.

"Virginia Democrats are ignoring their own Constitution and trying to rig the system in their favor," National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson said. "This is a reckless power grab designed to rush a sham process, mislead voters with deceptive ballot language and lock in one-party control before Virginians have a fair say."