Virginia Republicans are signaling they may try to knock out Tuesday night’s narrowly approved redistricting referendum in court, arguing Democrats sold voters a loaded question with “misleading” ballot language.
Opponents say the wording did more than summarize the constitutional amendment. They argue it framed the measure in feel-good terms that could sway voters before they ever reached the booth.
The ballot question asked: “Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia’s standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?”
GOP leaders and anti-referendum advocates are now pointing to that phrasing, especially “restore fairness,” as the opening for a post-election challenge. Their argument: voters only get a meaningful say on constitutional changes if the question is presented in a fair, legally sound way.
“This close margin reinforces that Virginia is a purple state that shouldn’t be represented by a severe partisan gerrymander,” NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., said in a statement.
Hudson said Virginia Democrats “can’t redraw reality” and urged courts to keep blocking what he and former Gov. Glenn Youngkin have described as an “egregious power grab.”
House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, also previewed a continued fight, calling the outcome frustrating but predictable.
“From the start, this process was tilted: misleading ballot language and a massive spending advantage made this an uphill climb for voters trying to make sense of a deeply complicated issue,” Kilgore said.
“But the ballot box was never the final word here,” Kilgore said. “Serious legal questions remain about both the wording of this referendum and the process used to put it before voters.”
“Those questions have not been resolved, and they now move where they belong: to the courts.” he added.
Former Virginia House GOP Majority Leader Eric Cantor took direct aim at the ballot wording, arguing it was crafted to soften the measure’s real-world effect.
“Today, Virginians cast their votes to preserve their voices in Congress while going up against $70 million of out-of-state money and shamefully misleading ballot language intended to keep them silent,” Cantor said. “Evidently, a sufficient number of Virginians trusted the blatantly dishonest language the Democrats placed on the ballot,” he added.
Virginians for Fair Maps, the group opposing the referendum, echoed that message after the vote and said legal action is next.
“Today’s outcome means the fight resumes in the courts,” the group’s co-chairs, former Attorney General Jason Miyares and Cantor, said in a joint statement.
They cited Coleman v. Pross in arguing Virginians have the right to vote on constitutional amendments only when questions reach the ballot through a fair process.
The legal theory Republicans are rallying around is simple, if the wording was materially misleading, the result should not be treated as the final word, especially in a tight contest.
“That does not guarantee a court win, but in a close vote, Republicans are plainly betting the language issue gives them their strongest path forward.”
“Tonight marks the end of the campaign,” Kilgore concluded. “It does not mark the end of this fight.”
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