WASHINGTON - Democrats filed an emergency request with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to pause a Virginia ruling that nullified a voter-approved ballot measure. That measure would have delivered their party four additional competitive U.S. House districts.

The action followed a 4-3 decision by the Virginia Supreme Court last Friday. It invalidated a constitutional amendment narrowly approved by voters last month. The state court ruled that the Democratic-led legislature started the ballot placement process improperly, after early voting had already begun in Virginia's previous general election.

Democrats had contended, without success, that U.S. Supreme Court precedents establish Election Day - not early voting - as the actual election date.

This appeal marks another chapter in the ongoing national battle over mid-decade redistricting. The effort began last year when President Donald Trump encouraged Republican-led states to redraw maps. It gained momentum from a recent Supreme Court decision that significantly undermined the Voting Rights Act.

"The Court disregarded the voters' choice by mandating an election under congressional districts they had rejected," stated attorneys for Virginia Democrats and Democratic Attorney General Jay Jones. They emphasized, "The damage from the Virginia Supreme Court's ruling is severe and imminent."

The request underscores Democrats' urgency after losing those four promising House seats in the redistricting contest initiated by President Trump. While Democrats remain positioned to regain House control, Republicans assert gains of over a dozen seats via redistricting. The Virginia map would have helped counter those advances.

Democrats face steep odds in seeking a reversal of the state court's decision. The U.S. Supreme Court typically refrains from overriding state interpretations of their own constitutions. In 2023, it declined North Carolina Republicans' bid to overturn a state ruling against their congressional map.

On the political front, the appeal offers Democrats ammunition amid struggles in mid-decade map battles. It fuels messaging about a politicized Supreme Court, especially after the justices recently permitted Louisiana Republicans to advance redistricting following the invalidation of a majority-Black district as racial gerrymandering.

Democrats were caught off-guard when, shortly after Virginia's measure passed, the Supreme Court's conservative majority overturned long-standing precedents. This effectively weakened the Voting Rights Act, enabling Southern states to dismantle some Black-majority districts and bolster Republican congressional advantages.

The Virginia amendment predated that ruling. It aimed to counter Republican map gains in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, and a newly enacted Florida plan. Its passage temporarily balanced the national redistricting tussle between parties.

The Virginia Supreme Court's ruling disrupted that equilibrium. Its justices, appointed by a legislature that has alternated party control, lack a pronounced ideological profile.