By Joseph Ax
April 28 (Reuters) – Virginia’s top court on Tuesday left in place a county judge’s order temporarily blocking the state from certifying the results of last week’s referendum, when voters approved a new Democratic-drawn congressional map aimed at flipping four Republican U.S. House seats.
The ruling, which came in one of three lawsuits Republicans have filed challenging the ballot measure, is not the last word on the election. The Virginia Supreme Court heard arguments in another lawsuit on Monday over whether Democrats complied with legal requirements when initiating the referendum, but it has not yet reached a final decision in any of the cases.
If allowed to stand, the ballot measure would give Democrats the advantage in 10 of the state’s 11 U.S. House of Representatives districts in November’s midterm elections, up from the party’s current 6-5 edge. Democrats need to flip three Republican-held seats to gain a House majority and break Republicans’ unified control of Washington.
The fight in Virginia is part of a national redistricting battle that President Donald Trump launched last summer, when he pushed Texas Republicans to install a new congressional map targeting five Democratic incumbents. Other states, both Republican- and Democratic-led, soon followed.
Florida appears to be the final state intent on redrawing its districts ahead of November. Republican lawmakers are preparing to vote on Wednesday on whether to approve a new map, drawn by Governor Ron DeSantis’ office, that is intended to flip four Democratic seats.
If Virginia’s referendum is blocked, and DeSantis’ effort is successful, that would give Republicans a windfall of around seven seats after the months-long redistricting arms race.
Tuesday’s order in Virginia came as part of a lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee. Last Wednesday, the day after the election, a judge in Tazewell County ruled the referendum was illegal and blocked state officials from certifying the results.
Democratic state Attorney General Jay Jones appealed, but the state Supreme Court denied his request on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Lisa Shumaker)
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