RICHMOND, Va. — Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, on Thursday issued a statement condemning the recent decision by the Supreme Court of Virginia striking down the state’s congressional redistricting amendment after it had been approved by voters.
In April 2026, Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment that could reshape the state’s congressional maps and affect the outcome of the 2026 elections.
The redistricting amendment could allow Democrats “to win 10 out of the state’s 11 congressional seats,” which is four more seats than they currently hold.
According to NPR, voters approved the redistricting amendment “by a 52% to 48% margin.”
Following voter approval of the redistricting amendment, the Republican Party filed a lawsuit. The Virginia high court found that the legislature “made procedural errors in how it placed the question on the ballot.”
Specifically, the Supreme Court highlighted that the redistricting amendment “violated the multistep process for putting constitutional amendments on the ballot.”
The Republican Party argued that “the first vote was in a special session that had been called for other topics long before,” and that “with the justices split four to three, not enough time had passed between the first vote and the ‘intervening’ election a few days later.”
In addition, Republicans argued that “lawmakers didn’t hold the legislative vote in time to post notification of the amendment on courthouse doors, as required by a 1902 law, 90 days before the next election.”
In response, Democrats’ counsel argued that “the legislature sets its procedures without court review, and that procedural errors shouldn’t cancel the will of the voters in an election,” and that “the 1902 law had been repealed and was out of date.”
Further, the Supreme Court stated that this “constitutional violation incurably taints the resulting referendum vote and nullifies its legal efficacy.”
In a statement issued by the Fairness Project, Hall pointed out that “more than three million voters participated in a free and fair election.”
Moreover, the Fairness Project stated that “a handful of jurists decided to supplant the will of the people with their individual preferences.”
As a result of decisions like this from politicians and political appointees, voters have “turned to the ballot measure process to pass legislation and make meaningful decisions for themselves.”
The decision by Virginia’s Supreme Court comes after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which, according to Common Cause, gutted the Voting Rights Act.
The decision has weakened civil rights law protections that “guarantee that communities of color have the right to fair congressional districts.”
The Fairness Project condemned both decisions and stated that “the court has placed itself unquestionably on the wrong side of history.”
The organization continued by emphasizing that efforts to maintain “a free and democratic society” will continue.
The statement concluded by acknowledging that progress will be challenging, but that citizens must “commit to voting this fall in such great numbers that no spin, no frivolous litigation, and no gerrymandering can resist the will of the people.”
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Good article 👍