NORFOLK, Va. — Virginia voters have approved a new congressional map that could give Democrats a 10-1 advantage, but opponents are hoping the Virginia Supreme Court will intervene.
The referendum passed by just under 3%. Under the measure, Virginia can redraw its 11 congressional districts. The new map could shift the current 6-5 split to a 10-1 advantage for Democrats. It would also mean big changes for Hampton Roads, including placing York County in the same district as Alexandria.
Joanne Matthews was one of more than 3 million people to vote in Tuesday's referendum election.
"I'm amazed so many people have shown up to vote," Matthews said.
Democrats have said the map is a response to Republican efforts in other states, and they are celebrating the results.
"All we do is win, win, win no matter what," said House Speaker Don Scott on Wednesday.
Opponents are hoping the Virginia Supreme Court will step in and rule the referendum out of order.
"We knew this was going to be hard. We're still fighting. We're still fighting in the courts. We think we're going to win in the courts," said House GOP Leader Terry Kilgore.
There are three lawsuits challenging the referendum. Two of them have reached the Virginia Supreme Court and argue the General Assembly didn't use the correct language on the ballot and didn't follow proper procedure.
"The language was so misleading. They didn't follow the statutes they were supposed to follow. There's a lot of missteps that happened during this process, so we feel comfortable moving on to the next phase," said Kilgore.
In March, the court said the election could still happen. Now, there will be a hearing Monday on one of the cases.
Some have questioned whether the court would get involved after voters weighed in, but it remains unclear exactly how they will proceed.
"We're gonna let the court system play itself out. Just like we abide the will of the voters, we have to abide by the will of whatever court. We're going to follow the rule of law," said Scott.
While millions have now cast their ballots with the majority approving, opponents are holding on to hope this map will be thrown out before this fall's midterm elections.
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