Virginia Supreme Court throws out redistricting referendum results

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The Virginia Supreme Court overturned the results of the state's redistricting referendum, which voters narrowly approved last month.

Why it matters: The ruling upends one of the most closely watched redistricting fights in the country.

It follows months of legal challenges over whether the referendum was unconstitutional.
The big picture: The decision effectively blocks Democrats from redrawing congressional maps mid-decade.

That's after the state spent $5.2 million to pay for the special election, and outside groups raised nearly $100 million to sway voters.
The new map would have been in effect for the November midterms and was expected to shift the state's congressional split from 6-5 favoring Democrats to 10-1.
Between the lines: It was a move Democrats said would've countered Republican-led states that redrew districts to add GOP seats in a closely divided U.S. House.

Republicans, who have repeatedly sued to block the redistricting vote, have called it extreme, illegal and hyperpartisan.
Zoom in: A central part of the case during oral arguments concerned what qualifies as the "next general election" under Virginia's constitution.

Virginia law requires amendments to move through two General Assembly sessions: one before the House has an election (last November) and one after.
Republicans have argued that lawmakers had improperly advanced the amendment after early voting had already begun.
Meanwhile, Democrats have said that an "election" is a single day in November — a position some justices appeared skeptical of.

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