Lessons from Virginia's redistricting wars: Supreme Court nullification and options for November
Virginia is one of only two states (the other is South Carolina) where supreme court judges are selected by the legislature. Advocates of this system argue that it shields judges from the pressures of campaigning to gain a seat or retain one, a dynamic that shapes judicial politics elsewhere.
This arrangement purportedly allows them to “follow the law” and avoid political controversy, a pledge that I heard countless times from applicants for judicial positions in the commonwealth.
For decades, Virginia’s Supreme Court largely maintained that reputation. One major exception came in 2016, when the Court decided that Democratic then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe, notwithstanding Article V, Section 12 of our Constitution, exceeded his authority by restoring voting rights, en masse, to more than 200,000 Virginians who had completed felony sentences. McAuliffe ultimately restored those rights individually, one signature at a time.
With this redistricting ruling, however, perceptions of the court are changing.
https://virginiamercury.com/2026/05/19/lessons-from-virginias-redistricting-wars-supreme-court-nullification-and-options-for-november/