Democrats Plot Coup Against Virginia Supreme Court in Redistricting Fight

[Timber Rattler]

https://redstate.com/joesquire/2026/05/10/democrats-plot-coup-against-virginia-supreme-court-in-redistricting-fight-n2202202

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/10/us/politics/democrats-virginia-plans-gerrymandering.html

The Virginia Supreme Court’s decision to throw out a voter-approved redistricting amendment has House Democrats scrambling, and at least one option on the table would require blowing up the state’s entire Supreme Court to get there.

According to the New York Times, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York joined Virginia Democratic members of Congress on a call Saturday where lawmakers vented over Friday’s ruling and weighed their options. They did not land on a specific path forward, agreeing to consult with attorneys before making any moves. But one idea circulating on the call got people talking: using the Democratic-controlled Virginia General Assembly to lower the mandatory retirement age for state Supreme Court justices, forcing out the current bench and replacing it with judges more favorable to Democratic redistricting goals.

(snip)

The plan, as described by people who were on the call or briefed on it afterward, runs through several steps.

The first would invoke the Tazewell County circuit court ruling from January, which held that the 2026 constitutional amendment effort was invalid because county officials did not post the required notice at courthouses and other public locations three months before a general election. From there, Democrats would argue that the 2020 amendment creating Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting commission was similarly flawed, handing the legislature the power to draw congressional maps directly.

The second, more dramatic piece would have Democrats in the General Assembly lower the mandatory retirement age for Virginia Supreme Court justices from 73 to 54, the age of the youngest current justice. Because Virginia’s General Assembly appoints judges, and Democrats hold majorities in both chambers, the party could then fill the resulting vacancies with sympathetic appointees. A column in The Downballot, a progressive newsletter, floated a version of the idea Friday night, and it began circulating among lawmakers and congressional members shortly after.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger would need to sign any legislation lowering the retirement age. Her spokeswoman declined to comment to the Times, and Spanberger has not been briefed on the proposal.

Former Rep. James Moran, a Virginia Democrat, told the Times the court-stacking idea would be “just a bridge too far” and could backfire on the party. “We do have to keep our credibility,” Moran said. “We have to do things that pass the legitimacy test.”

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam of Loudoun County, who was on the Saturday call, took a harder line. “Everyone has got to have a strong stomach right now; this is a complete disaster waiting to happen if people are timid,” Subramanyam told the Times.

EXCERPT

They've already alienated half the Commonwealth, and I can't imagine anything else here that would tip the balance toward outright armed resistance than destroying the VA Supreme Court just to achieve their gerrymandered re-districting scheme.  They truly are playing with fire here...

[Smokin Joe]

Lower the age below full retirement age, and it's unconstitutional.

Some capricious number that can be manipulated to target a class of employees is a violation of their civil rights.

[mystery-ak]

Heartbreak for Dems As VA Senate Majority Leader Delivers Crushing Blow to Latest Gerrymander Scheme
By Sister Toldjah | 12:20 PM on May 11, 2026

RedState reported Sunday on the sheer desperation that has set in among Democrats at the state and congressional levels after the Virginia Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the process state Democrats used to put their gerrymander referendum on the ballot was a violation of Virginia's Constitution.

This effectively nuked the Democrats' plan to implement a new map that potentially would net them another four seats in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, which would have made the congressional delegation 10-1 Democrat-Republican.

Perhaps the most extreme of the measures that, per The New York Times, were being considered during a meeting Saturday that included House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), was to have "Democrats in Richmond lower the mandatory retirement age for state Supreme Court justices... from 75 to 54," a plan that, if seen through, would force out every justice currently sitting on the state Supreme Court. Afterwards, they conceivably would use their power to "then fill vacancies on the court with sympathetic Democratic lawyers."

Unfortunately for Democrats, the brakes have been slammed on the various plots they were cooking up by none other than Virginia State Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), according to reporting from the Virginia Scope's Brandon Jarvis:

    It is not happening

    Surovell, the top Democrat in the state Senate, told Virginia Scope Monday morning that these drastic measures will not be taken.

    Surovell said that the time restrictions at the Department of Elections make the notion impractical.

    He also said forcing the retirement of Supreme Court justices would be extreme, and he wants to work within the existing legal system when fighting against Republicans.

    Speaker of the House Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, has not responded to a request for comment.

more
https://redstate.com/sister-toldjah/2026/05/11/virginia-senate-majority-leader-weighs-in-on-extreme-plans-being-considered-in-gerrymandering-battle-n2202214