Virginia Democrats' Gerrymandering Referendum Violates Constitutional Process Requirements
Source: Breccan F. Thies. "VA High Court Denies Dems' Move To Certify Gerrymander Vote." April 28, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that Virginia Democrats broke multiple constitutional rules when pushing through their gerrymandering referendum, including improper timing, misleading ballot language, and violating required waiting periods. The state Supreme Court's rejection of Democrats' appeal suggests the courts will strike down the entire referendum for these procedural violations.
Conclusion
The Virginia Supreme Court's denial of the Democratic AG's motion signals that the Democrats' gerrymandering referendum should be invalidated due to multiple constitutional and procedural violations
Premises
- Democrats violated the constitutional requirement for two different General Assemblies to approve a referendum with an intervening election by passing it four days before an election after 1.3 million Virginians had already voted
- The referendum was passed in apparent contravention of special session rules, which have limited scope and were not called to deal with such a referendum
- Democrats violated the constitutionally required 90-day waiting period between final passage and voter submission, allowing voting to begin only 49 days after passage
- The ballot language claiming gerrymandering would 'restore fairness' is 'flagrantly misleading' according to the Tazewell court
- The Virginia Supreme Court's one-sentence denial with no dissent or partial relief indicates the court takes process seriously and may be willing to invalidate the entire gerrymander
Assumptions
- Constitutional procedural requirements for referendums are mandatory and not merely advisory
- Courts should strictly enforce process requirements regardless of the political merits of the underlying issue
- The Supreme Court's brief denial signals substantive agreement with lower court concerns rather than mere procedural delay
- Voters have a right to know about referendum questions before casting ballots in intervening elections