Judge bars certification of Virginia redistricting results; state AG promises appeal

A. Congressional map approved by Virginia voters The legislation, which aims to help Democrats win four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in November’s midterm elections, faces another legal hurdle just a day after it became law.

A judge in rural southern Virginia ordered Wednesday not to certify Tuesday’s voting results on several grounds, including that state lawmakers did not follow their own rules in passing the redistricting referendum. Tazewell County Circuit Judge Jack Hurley also said the ballot language applied to voters was “clearly misleading.”

Hurley prohibited state election officials from changing voting districts or proceeding with new maps.

The fate of Virginia’s referendum was already before the state Supreme Court; The court reversed Hurley’s previous ruling ahead of the referendum and allowed Tuesday’s vote to continue before deciding the merits of the case. The case is still pending before the state Supreme Court.

State’s Attorney Jay Jones said his office intends to immediately appeal Hurley’s decision Wednesday.

Andrea Gaines, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Elections, said state officials are aware of the decision and are “in the process of reviewing the impact on State Board Certification” of Tuesday’s results.

Virginians for Fair Elections, which led the campaign to support the referendum, said in a statement that voters “fully understood what was on the ballot and voted YES.”

“Republicans lost,” the group said. “Now they are trying to overturn the will of the voters in court and bring up an election they did not win.”

Virginians narrowly approved the new map, which gives Democrats an advantage in 10 of the state’s 11 U.S. House seats; It was a major win for the party in the redistricting fight that has been raging across the country since last summer.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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