Virginia Democrats' Supreme Court Appeal Is Legally Flawed and Will Fail
Source: Breccan F. Thies. "Dems Ask SCOTUS To Say 45-Day Election Is 'Single Day' Event." May 12, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
Virginia Democrats are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to say that a 45-day voting period counts as just one day so they can push through gerrymandering changes. The author argues this will fail because federal courts can't rule on state election rules and the argument makes no sense.
Conclusion
Virginia Democrats' appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the state court's blocking of their gerrymandering referendum will fail because their legal arguments are fundamentally flawed and the federal court lacks jurisdiction
Premises
- The U.S. Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to rule on state constitutional issues like Virginia's election procedures
- Virginia Democrats are incorrectly trying to manufacture federal jurisdiction by citing federal election cases that are 'not controlling' in Virginia
- The Virginia Supreme Court correctly ruled that an 'election' includes the entire 45-day voting period, not just Election Day
- Democrats' argument that only 'Election Day' counts as the election would disenfranchise 1.3 million voters who voted during the 42 days before the referendum passed
- Legal experts predict unanimous rejection by the Supreme Court, with Chief Justice Roberts already signaling skepticism by requesting Republican responses rather than granting an administrative stay
- The Democrats' legal filings have been notably sloppy with multiple spelling errors and procedural mistakes, undermining their credibility
Assumptions
- Federal courts should not interfere with state constitutional matters unless there is clear federal jurisdiction
- An election period that spans 45 days should be treated as a single continuous election, not just the final day
- Legal competence and attention to detail in filings reflects on the merit of legal arguments
- Expert legal opinions from former officials and legal scholars are reliable predictors of Supreme Court behavior