(The Center Square) – Virginia leaders are turning attention back to the unresolved state budget after last week’s Supreme Court ruling striking down the commonwealth’s congressional redistricting amendment.
The Supreme Court of Virginia ruled 4-3 Friday that lawmakers violated the state constitution by approving the amendment on Oct. 31 after more than 1.3 million Virginians had already cast ballots during early voting.
The ruling keeps Virginia’s current congressional map in place for the 2026 election cycle.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, criticized the ruling, saying in a statement that “the majority of Virginia voters voted to push back against a president who said he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress.”
Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, posted Saturday on social media that Democratic leaders “knowingly violated the Virginia Constitution” and “purposefully violated clear constitutional procedures to deceive voters.”
Republicans continued framing the ruling as a constitutional and taxpayer issue throughout the weekend.
At a Friday press conference following the decision, House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, called the ruling “a great day for the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia” and urged lawmakers to return focus to unfinished state business, including the budget.
“We’ve got to move forward now,” Kilgore said. “I ask both parties that we just need to get together, get a budget, work on things that matter to the commonwealth of Virginia and get away from all this national politics.”
The General Assembly adjourned March 14 without adopting a budget, and negotiations remain unresolved nearly two months later.
Court filings show Democrats are still pursuing an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
A joint motion filed Friday in the Supreme Court of Virginia by the state, House Speaker Don Scott, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell and Sen. Louise Lucas asked the court to delay issuing its mandate while attorneys prepare an emergency petition to the nation’s high court.
Former Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican, said that the appeal effort had “zero chance to succeed,” calling it “a Hail Mary” that would be declared dead on arrival.
Discussion over possible responses to the ruling, including speculation about judicial retirement rules, surfaced over the weekend before several Democratic lawmakers distanced themselves from the idea Monday.
Elections Commissioner Steven Koski warned in a court affidavit that map changes after May 12 could significantly disrupt election preparations ahead of Virginia’s scheduled August primaries.
