VA Presses on with Redistricting Vote (amid Litigation)
Lynchburg court says it will issue new injunction on the special Constitutional referendum election by Monday if Supreme Court of VA doesn't weigh in soon on a restraining order on ELECT.
A temporary restraining order by Tazewell District Court on Feb. 19, and appeal by the Commissioner of Elections notwithstanding, localities across the Commonwealth are prepping for an April 21 special vote on redistricting, according to Dept. of Elections advisories.
Despite a recent ruling issued by Tazewell Judge Jack Hurley* a week ago ordering preparations to halt on the special election, ELECT sent out an advisory on the same day as the ruling with key dates and schedules.
See the advisory about the April 21 election here:
Timing of the Advisory
The advisories from ELECT are dated Feb. 19, 2026 — the same day a Tazewell District Court issued a second ruling enjoining the Dept. of Elections from preparing for the election, and a day before the Elections Commissioner appealed to the Supreme Court of Virginia.
See the latest Tazewell District Court Ruling here:
See the Commissioner of Elections’ appeal (Koski v. RNC) here:
More Judicial Hearings to Clarify
In yet another related development, former House of Delegates member and attorney Tim Anderson was in Lynchburg County Circuit Court today for a hearing asking a judge to clarify the recent Tazewell ruling.
Does the Feb. 19 Tazewell ruling apply to localities as well? Other localities are said to be asking similar questions.
Judge F. Patrick Yeatts apparently took the case under advisement, saying he would rule by Monday on whether to issue a new injunction if the Supreme Court of Virginia doesn’t act by Monday [on the latest appeals]. Pleadings are here: https://lynchburg.win
Anderson posted an update on his X account today:
In the meantime, EPEC Team is publishing the special advisory details it received via FOIA requests, and an advisory on the change to the June 16 primary to Aug. 4.
They include a schedule for Logic & Accuracy testing, ballot prep, and deadlines for coordinating absentee by-mail ballots with the third-party ballot-tracking outfit “Ballot Scout.” See the April 21 advisory here:
Localities, including Fairfax County, are sending out email notices of the April 21, 2026 election on a proposed Virginia constitutional amendment.
The notices are collecting availability from active election officers.
(At least, most of the EOs are receiving these notices. Fairfax County’s elections staff apparently removed long-serving members from the Election Officer list without informing anyone. We’ll keep you posted.)
Advisories on the primary elections date change from June 16th to August 4th can be viewed here. (We redacted email and phone information on the advisories.)
EPEC Team mapped out how each of the localities voted in the governor race in 2025 using official Dept. of Elections data to depict the voting preferences of Virginia’s population.
We then added another layer on the map showing the outline of the latest proposed new maps released by the Virginia assembly as of Feb. 17. The dual-map view shows the Republican-voting districts and the Democrat-voting districts that are being re-drawn to achieve a 10-1 (D-R) congressional map ahead of the midterm elections.
More maps in our next report.
For more information about upcoming elections, see the Dept. of Elections’ website here: https://www.elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/upcoming-elections.html. #