Virginia Judge Voids Special‑Session Redistricting Amendment as Unconstitutional Procedural Overreach
A Tazewell Circuit Court judge, Jack Hurley Jr., voided a proposed mid‑decade constitutional amendment that would have allowed Democrats to redraw Virginia’s U.S. House maps, finding the Democratic‑led General Assembly improperly added the measure during a budget‑focused special session without the unanimous‑consent/supermajority its rules require and failed to meet statutory publication and three‑month pre‑election timing requirements. Hurley also held that the 2025 House election had effectively begun when early voting started—making subsequent legislative votes ineffective—issued injunctions blocking further action, and the pro‑amendment group Virginians for Fair Elections said it will appeal, accusing Republicans of court‑shopping.
📌 Key Facts
- Tazewell Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. voided a proposed mid‑decade constitutional amendment that would have allowed Democrats to redraw Virginia’s U.S. House maps, ruling it invalid on procedural grounds.
- Hurley found the General Assembly failed to meet a state statutory requirement that constitutional amendments be passed and published at least three months before a general election.
- The judge ruled the Democratic‑led legislature improperly expanded a 2024 budget‑focused special session to add the redistricting amendment without the unanimous consent or supermajority its internal rules required, calling the move a "blatant abuse of power" and rendering those actions void ab initio.
- Hurley held that the constitutional bar on advancing amendments "after an election" began when early voting opened for the 2025 House of Delegates election (with more than one million ballots already cast), meaning the amendment was advanced too late.
- Because lawmakers failed to meet statutory publication and posting requirements, the court found the 2026 regular‑session vote cannot count as the required second approval and is "ineffective."
- The court issued temporary and permanent injunctions blocking any further action to advance or submit the amendment to voters, halting Democrats’ immediate effort to change district maps and potentially gain seats.
- Pro‑amendment group Virginians for Fair Elections said it will appeal and accused opponents of "court‑shopping," while observers place Virginia’s dispute within a broader national mid‑decade redistricting fight with potential House seat shifts in multiple states.
📰 Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
January 28, 2026
1:30 AM
Virginia judge voids redistricting push, rules lawmakers overstepped authority
New information:
- Judge Jack Hurley’s written opinion spells out that the General Assembly improperly expanded a 2024 budget‑focused special session to include a redistricting constitutional amendment without the unanimous consent or supermajority vote its own rules required, rendering those actions void ab initio.
- Hurley holds that for purposes of the constitutional bar on advancing amendments after "an election," the 2025 House of Delegates election began when early voting opened, not only on Election Day, noting over one million ballots were already cast before the amendment vote.
- The ruling finds lawmakers failed to meet statutory publication and posting requirements for constitutional amendments before the next election, so the 2026 regular‑session vote cannot count as the required second approval and is "ineffective" as a valid second vote.
- The court issues both temporary and permanent injunctions blocking any further action to advance or submit the amendment to voters, delivering what Fox characterizes as a major setback for Democrats’ effort to change how districts are drawn and potentially gain seats.
January 27, 2026
10:23 PM
Virginia Democrats' redistricting resolution illegal due to technicality, judge finds
New information:
- Tazewell Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled that the proposed mid‑decade redistricting constitutional amendment is invalid due to failure to meet a state requirement that such proposals be passed and published at least three months before a general election.
- Hurley also held that the Democratic‑led legislature violated its own internal rules by adding the amendment during a special session, calling it a 'blatant abuse of power.'
- The ruling voids the amendment that would have let Democrats redraw Virginia’s U.S. House maps before November; the pro‑amendment group Virginians for Fair Elections says it will appeal and accuses Republicans of 'court‑shopping.'
- The article situates Virginia’s fight within a broader national mid‑decade redistricting struggle in which Republicans currently see nine potential pick‑ups and Democrats six from new maps in other states.
January 18, 2026
10:25 AM
Trump vows to ‘take out’ Indiana GOP leader over redistricting fight
New information:
- Reports that President Trump is now directly targeting Indiana Senate Majority Leader Rod Bray, vowing to "take out" Bray in GOP primaries after Bray’s chamber rejected a Trump‑backed congressional map.
- Details that the Indiana Senate voted 31–19 in December against the new map that would have created two additional right‑leaning U.S. House districts and effectively eliminated two Democratic seats, with 21 Republicans joining 10 Democrats in opposition.
- Trump says he will work with former Indiana congressman David McIntosh, now a key figure at the Club for Growth, to defeat Bray, and McIntosh publicly agreed, saying "Rod Bray is going down."
- The Indiana House had passed the redistricting bill 57–41 with a dozen Republicans voting no, but Bray and other Senate GOP leaders maintained there was insufficient support to move the map forward despite heavy pressure from Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
January 17, 2026