US Supreme Court denies Virginia Democrats' request to override state court on redistricting plan
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Virginia Democrats' request to stay the state Supreme Court decision that invalidated a voter-approved redistricting effort.
The single sentence order offered no explanation. Legal experts considered federal court intervention in a state constitutional law case a long shot.
There were no noted dissents.
Earlier this week, Virginia Democrats had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to override last week's decision by the state's highest court that struck down a voter-approved redistricting ballot measure ahead of the midterm elections.
In an emergency application filed Monday, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones wrote that the Virginia Supreme Court was "deeply mistaken" when it invalidated the ballot measure, arguing the decision was predicated on a flawed understanding of "election day" and usurps the authority of state legislatures under the Constitution to supervise federal elections.
Jones urged the justices to action quickly because "the window for orderly administration of Virginia's congressional elections is closing rapidly."
The state court ruling last week concluded that Democrats had violated the state Constitution -- essentially failing to follow proper procedures -- while racing to get the measure on the ballot.
Legal experts who spoke with ABC News last week said they believed Democrats had little chance of a successful appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court, given that the state Supreme Court would be the highest authority dealing with state constitutional issues and that there were no clear federal issues at stake.
Democrats had hoped the election, which allowed them to redraw Virginia's congressional map, could lead to them being able to flip up to four seats in Congress. The subsequent state court decision was a major victory for Republicans.
ABC News' Peter Charalambous and Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.
