Virginia Democrats, including House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott, filed a joint motion Friday asking the Virginia Supreme Court to stay its ruling that invalidated last month's redistricting referendum, according to The Hill. The motion signals an intent to carry the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The pattern is older than the republic's current party system: state courts striking popular referenda on redistricting, forcing the federal judiciary to referee where self-government should have settled the question. California, Ohio, and Michigan have all cycled through this loop within the last two decades — voters approving independent commissions, legislatures or courts finding procedural grounds to void them.
What distinguishes this moment is that the U.S. Supreme Court's 2019 Rucho decision largely withdrew federal courts from partisan gerrymandering claims. Democrats appealing there are betting on procedural constitutional grounds, not equity — a narrower door, and a court that has shown little appetite to open it.