McDougle, Triolo to Newsmax: Va. High Court Must Reject Map Referendum

Virginia Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, and Republican National Committee election integrity communications director Ally Triolo told Newsmax on Monday that they are optimistic the state Supreme Court will block a newly approved referendum that could dramatically reshape Virginia's congressional map.

The April 21 referendum, which narrowly passed, would allow Democrats to redraw Virginia's 11 congressional districts in a way that could increase the current 6-5 Democrat majority to as many as 10-1. It would temporarily shift redistricting authority from Virginia's bipartisan Redistricting Commission to the Democrat-controlled Legislature through 2030.

McDougle, who is the legislative head of the redistricting commission, is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit being heard by Virginia's high court. He said a lower court ruled in Republicans' favor on key constitutional issues.

"The trial court ruled in our favor on three counts," McDougle told "Rob Schmitt Tonight."

"One, was that notice was not given to local clerks of court by the clerk of the House of Delegates. Two, that we were in special session when the original referendum vote was taken by the Legislature and that special session should never have existed, because there was an intervening regular session."

He added a third argument centered on timing requirements for constitutional amendments.

"There has to be an intervening election, and this was done five days before the election actually occurred on Election Day, but over a million Virginians had already voted," McDougle said.

"Those three reasons should be enough for the court to rule that this was not done constitutionally."

Triolo said the referendum represents a partisan effort to tilt elections.

"We know that this is a partisan power grab, and we know that Democrats are masters at lying to their voters," Triolo said, pointing to ballot language and district configurations she argued undermine fair representation.

"We went from Virginia arguably having the most fair districts in all of the nation to the 10-to-1 split. Carving up communities ... we know that these districts are not representative of Virginians."

On April 22, Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley sided with Republican plaintiffs in another lawsuit and declared the amendment and enabling legislation "void ab initio," citing multiple violations of the state Constitution.

Hurley found the amendment violated constitutional requirements governing how amendments must be passed, including the requirement that two legislative approvals be separated by a House of Delegates election, which cannot occur until 2027.

He also ruled lawmakers failed to follow statutory procedures, including requirements for public notice and timing.

McDougle said he believes the law is "clear" and expressed confidence the justices will ultimately side with challengers.

"Special sessions cannot go on in perpetuity like this one did. That's clear," he said.

"I think that they're going to rule that this is unconstitutional."

Triolo said the RNC has committed significant resources to the legal battle and will continue fighting the measure in court.

"We have poured millions of dollars into this legal fight ... and will continue to fight tooth and nail," she said. "A circuit court already ruled these maps unconstitutional, and we look forward to seeing a decision soon."

Voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after each census. But President Donald Trump triggered an unusual round of mid-decade redistricting last year when he urged Texas Republicans to redraw House districts to give the GOP an edge in the midterm elections.

California Democrats reciprocated, and redistricting efforts soon cascaded across states.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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