Four Richmond voters have filed a lawsuit in Richmond Circuit Court seeking to compel the Virginia Board of Elections to certify the April 21 redistricting referendum. Currently, a court order is preventing the certification of election results that would allow the implementation of a map favoring Democrats in 10 of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts.
The lawsuit argues that Virginia voters approved the constitutional amendment by roughly 105,000 votes statewide and that the State Board of Elections is legally required to certify the results. The plaintiffs contend certification is necessary for the congressional map created under House Bill 29 to take effect and say delays could disrupt upcoming 2026 election deadlines for voters, candidates and election officials.
Alexsis Rodgers, Jerome Legions, Sandra Antoine and Jacob Peters filed the lawsuit against the State Board of Elections and Steven Koski, the commission at the Department of Elections.
“Until certification occurs, the Department and Commissioner cannot lawfully give operative effect to the new congressional districts,” the lawsuit states. “Implementation requires changes to the Virginia Election and Registration Information System, coordination with local registrars, ballot-order preparation, ballot proofing, ballot printing, vendor coordination, absentee-ballot preparation, military and overseas voter mailings, programming for voters with disabilities, and related election-administration tasks.”
Tazewell Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley placed an injunction against certification of the election results after he ruled for a second time that Democrats did not properly complete the amendment process.
The Department of Elections cannot begin the process of moving voters to the new districts until the election is certified.
The Virginia Supreme Court denied Attorney General Jay Jones’ motion to lift the block on certification while it considers the legality of the redistricting process.
House Bill 1384, passed earlier this year, established a 14-day deadline after Election Day for the State Board to certify the April 21 Special Election. A spokesperson for the Department of Elections told Virginia Scope that the State Board had a prescheduled meeting set for May 1 at which certification was planned. But that meeting came and went without certification as officials wait on the Court to rule.
The certification deadline passed on Tuesday, but several lawyers told Virginia Scope they expect the court to extend it if the justices rule in favor of Democrats.
The certification deadline would become irrelevant if the court rules in favor of Republicans.
The plaintiffs asked for an emergency hearing within 48-72 hours.