The City of Lynchburg filed a lawsuit in Lynchburg Circuit Court on Wednesday seeking clarification on whether it may move forward with the redistricting referendum, or whether the latest ruling from Tazewell Circuit Court prevents it.
A Tazewell Circuit Court judge recently ruled that the referendum cannot move forward, and Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones appealed immediately.
However, on Tuesday, the Virginia Department of Elections sent a message to registrars informing them to move forward with the referendum.
“Notice: ELECT has completed its review of the recent court order by the Tazewell Circuit Court regarding the April 21, 2026, special election. The recent order applies only to the named defendants, including local election officials in Tazewell County. The request to pause sent on February 20 is withdrawn,” the message states.
Former Republican Del. Tim Anderson is representing the Lynchburg City Council in the lawsuit. “You have this order out of Tazewell that’s supposed to be a statewide injunction,” Anderson said.
“Lynchburg is just like, ‘what are we supposed to do?’ There are all these issues. We have a circuit court judge saying one thing, and we have the Department of Elections saying something different,” Anderson continued. “They’re just asking for guidance, and it’s entirely what a declaratory judgment is for.”
Anderson said an emergency hearing was scheduled for 9 a.m. on Thursday.