Dems float plan to reduce retirement age for VA Supreme Court justices by 21 YEARS in bid to overturn ruling against Spanberger's 'lobster' map

The Supreme Court of Virginia struck down Democrats' efforts to redraw the state's congressional map in a move intended to give the Democrats four more seats in Congress and now the party is desperate to overturn the decision in any way possible. This includes attempts to oust the entire bench of the state's highest court.

Over the weekend, a private discussion was held between Virginia state legislators and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to address the issue before them. They were determined, reports The New York Times, to get a new congressional district map in Virginia to gain more Democrat seats. Prior to the new map, the breakdown was 6 Demcorat seats to 5 Republican seats. The new map would likely be 10 to 1.

One key part of the plan was to lower the mandatory retirement age for the Virginia Supreme Court justices from 75 to 54, which is the age of the youngest justice on the court. Vacancies on the court would then be appointed by the Democrat-majority General Assembly. Former Representative James P. Moran of Virginia said that the move to stack the state's highest court would be "just a bridge too far."

Virginia Democrat Governor Abigail Spanberger would also have to sign off on the legislation to lower the age. During her gubernatorial campaign, she said she had "no plans" of redistricting the state. Then she pushed a new map. The redraw was mocked online ealier this year as one of the districts even appeared to look like a lobster. She has yet to be briefed on the plan to pack the Virginia Supreme Court, per the Times.

Democrat Representative Suhas Subramanyam of Loudon County, Virginia said that he supported whatever is necessary to force the map through. “Everyone has got to have a strong stomach right now; this is a complete disaster waiting to happen if people are timid,” he said. “We have Republican states ignoring their constitutions and interrupting early voting and ignoring their Supreme Courts all together. We know based on that, Republicans would explore every single option possible to move this forward.”

Over the weekend, Jeffries also called for "nationwide judicial reform" and said that the Democrat would win back the House in the November midterms.

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled in a 4 to 3 decision last week that the process used by Virginia elected leaders to get the question on the ballot before voters was unconstitutional. Voters, the court said, were not given enough time between the public proposal of a new map and a vote.

"We hold that the legislative process employed to advance this proposal violated Article XII, Section 1 of the Constitution of Virginia. This constitutional violation incurably taints the resulting referendum vote and nullifies its legal efficacy," the court ruled in the decision.

Efforts from Jeffries and the Dems may be futile, as the Democrats effectively have until May 12—tomorrow—to adjust the maps, according to an affidavit filed by the Department of Elections commissioner in Virginia.