By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – New congressional district lines for Virginia being redrawn before the 2030 census through a proposed amendment has been blocked by a judge.
In a ruling issued Tuesday, a judge in Tazewell County Circuit Court said lawmakers did not follow required procedures when they expanded a 2024 special session to take up the amendment. The court also found the measure was advanced after voting in the 2025 House of Delegates election had already begun.
Because of that, the court ruled the amendment process was invalid from the start and said the proposal cannot move forward under the current timeline because the required intervening general election has not occurred.
The proposal, House Joint Resolution 6007, was intended to give the General Assembly another opportunity to revisit congressional maps ahead of the next census.
Under the state constitution, amendments must pass two separately elected General Assemblies, with a general election in between, before they can be placed on the ballot. The judge said that sequence was not followed because the amendment was taken up while early voting was already underway.
The ruling also pointed to state law requiring advance public notice of proposed constitutional amendments, including publication and courthouse posting months before an election. The court found those requirements were not met.
The decision came the same day lawmakers approved legislation setting an April 21 referendum date for the amendment. Even so, the court’s order prevents the proposal from advancing under the current constitutional process.
The lawsuit was brought by Republican lawmakers and others challenging how the constitutional amendment was handled.
In a joint statement, Sen. Ryan McDougle, Del. Terry Kilgore and Eric Cantor said the ruling confirmed that constitutional requirements cannot be bypassed, saying the process mattered regardless of the outcome.
Democratic leaders pushed back, saying the ruling would not stop them from continuing to pursue the amendment.
In a joint statement, House Speaker Don Scott, Senate President Pro Tempore L. Louise Lucas, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell and other Democratic leaders said they plan to appeal the decision and expect the courts to ultimately allow voters to decide the issue.