BREAKING: Virginia Supreme Court declines to lift lower courts pause on certification of redistricting vote

The Virginia Supreme Court has allowed a lower court’s block on the certification of the state’s redistricting vote to stand for now. In a short order released on Tuesday, the justices wrote, "Upon consideration whereof, the Court denies the motion" to overrule the temporary stay. 

The ruling strikes down Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones’ attempt to pause a Tazewell County judge decision that blocked officials from certifying the results of the election, which narrowly passed. The redistricting effort would result in 10 of the state’s 11 House seats being held by Democrats, up from six. The court has yet to make its final ruling on the merits of the case.

Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, a plaintiff in the case, said in response to the ruling, "We would take the court's refusal to grant a stay of the order preventing the State Board of Elections from certifying the election as a positive, but certainly we're waiting for the final decision from the court," per the Richmond Times-Dispatch. 

Tazewell County Judge Jack Hurley took issue in his ruling with the framing of the referendum’s question on the ballot, writing, "the ballot language proposes in HB 1384 submits to the voter a flagrantly misleading question to the voters, and because the ballot language did not accurately describe the proposed amendment as it was passed in the General Assembly." 

The question as framed asked voters to answer "yes" or "no" to the following: "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?"

This is a breaking story.