WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Virginia鈥檚 bid to restore a congressional map that would have given Democrats a chance to pick up four seats in the closely divided House of Representatives.
The court鈥檚 order, issued without any noted dissent, is the latest twist in the nation鈥檚 . It was kicked off last year by President Donald Trump to redraw their lines and was supercharged by a recent severely weakening the Voting Rights Act that opened up even more winnable seats for the GOP.
In recent days, the justices have sided with Republicans in Alabama and Louisiana who hope to redo their congressional maps to produce more GOP-leaning seats following the court鈥檚 voting rights decision.
But the Virginia situation was different, stemming from a 4-3 ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court that a constitutional amendment that just last month.
The state court found that the Democratic-controlled legislature improperly began the process of placing the amendment on the ballot after early voting had begun in Virginia鈥檚 general election last fall.
The Supreme Court typically doesn鈥檛 intervene in state court proceedings unless they present an issue of federal law. Virginia Democrats had hoped to persuade the justices that the Virginia court misread federal law and Supreme Court precedent that hold that, even if early voting is underway, an election does not happen until Election Day itself.
Virginia鈥檚 amendment had been intended as a response to Republican gains in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, and to blunt a new map in Florida that just became law. Once the Virginia amendment passed, it briefly turned the nationwide redistricting scramble into a draw between the two parties.
That was unraveled by the Virginia Supreme Court鈥檚 decision.
It鈥檚 possible Democrats could use the high court鈥檚 rejection of their bid, while also blessing Republican efforts in Alabama and Louisiana, in election-year messaging about a partisan Supreme Court.
The state鈥檚 top Democrats disagreed about whether it was even too late for help from the Supreme Court. 鈥淭ime grows short, but it is not yet too late,鈥� lawyers for the Democratic leaders of the legislature as well as the state told the justices in a brief filed Friday.
A day earlier, the office of Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger already had confirmed that the state will hold this year鈥檚 elections under the current districts established in 2021. Last month, Virginia Commissioner of Elections Steve Koski said a court order was needed by this past Tuesday to set the district lines for primary elections on Aug. 4.
The leader of the state’s Republican party said the justices made the right call. 鈥淲isely, the Supreme Court of the United States has confirmed the judgment of the Supreme Court of Virginia,鈥� state party chairman Jeff Ryer said. 鈥淭his should once and for all put to rest the Democrats鈥� effort to disenfranchise half of Virginia.鈥�
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