Judge Kills Virginia’s Redistricting Referendum

There were many reasons for it to be killed, starting with it being unconstitutional

You knew that the minute this was passed there would be lawsuits

(Fox News) Virginia Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley ruled Wednesday, one day after the Democrat redistricting referendum passed, that all votes for or against the proposed redistricting amendment were unconstitutional, citing rules that impose certain requirements that the referendum did not meet.

There are a handful of cases making their way through the Virginia court system challenging various aspects of the referendum, including the one Hurley ruled on Wednesday.

“The Tazewell Circuit Court just ruled the referendum unconstitutional. The Judge entered an injunction blocking certification of the election & denied a motion to stay pending appeal. A final order will be entered once drafted, & it will be immediately appealed,” former Republican Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said on X after Hurley’s ruling.

Cuccinelli, who heads the American Principles Project Election Transparency Initiative, indicated Wednesday there are four constitutional challenges to the referendum making their way through the courts, three of which are challenges to the amendment process itself.

The whole process bypassed the actual Virginia Constitution, so, it will be interesting to see what happens when this gets to the Va Supreme Court, and then possibly beyond that to federal courts.

Democrats’ Virginia Gerrymander is GOP’s Sign to Play Hardball

On Tuesday, Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment that will allow Democrats to draw new maps, handing them control of 10 of 11 U.S. House seats in a state that Kamala Harris won by just five points in 2024. The result should be a shock to the senses for Republicans nationwide that it’s time to get serious about redistricting – starting with a push in Florida next week. (big snip)

But while a post-mortem of this specific election is perhaps in order, Republicans’ biggest takeaway should be that Democrats are willing to be as ruthless as necessary – even violate the law – in pursuit of power. Republicans’ only option is to respond with similar determination.

Yeah, well, good luck with that. The vast majority of them have failed to learn this lesson for the better part of this century. They’ve wanted to be comrades and The Adults In The Room, reasonable, all while Democrats have gotten more and more vicious. Republicans “don’t want to play that game.” There are too many who go Squish. They do not learn.