A Virginia state judge on Tuesday blocked plans by the state's Democratic lawmakers to use a new map this year before November's midterm elections, objecting to the redistricting push on procedural grounds.

Tazewell County Circuit Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled that the state legislature did not follow the right procedure to approve the proposed constitutional amendment that would allow it to redraw state congressional lines. 

State law requires a constitutional amendment to be passed in the state legislature twice, with an election intervening in between the sessions, in order to go before voters. But Hurley ruled that the first passage of the amendment did not take place before the state’s 2025 elections because early voting had already begun.

“There is no rational conclusion except that the election began on the first day of voting (September 19, 2025) and ended on November 4, 2025,” Hurley wrote. “Therefore, the Court finds that following the October 31, 2025 vote and passage of [the redistricting amendment] has not been an ensuing general election of the House of Delegates.”

Virginia Democrats signaled that they will appeal the ruling in a statement to The Hill.

“Nothing that happened today will dissuade us from continuing to move forward and put this matter directly to the voters,” top Virginia Democrats in the state Legislature said in a joint statement. “Republicans who can’t win at the ballot box are abusing the legal process in an attempt to sow confusion and block Virginians from voting.”

The ruling comes as a major redistricting battle sweeps the country ahead of the midterms.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.