A Virginia judge issued a ruling blocking Virginia from moving forward with certifying the results of a special election regarding a redistricting referendum that could possibly allow Democrats to gain four congressional seats.

In the ruling from the Tazewell Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurtley, issued on Wednesday, the judge explained that “the process underlying the referendum broke several state laws and that certifying the vote would harm” Republican lawmakers in the state, WTVR News reported.

“The Tazewell Court ruling does the following,” Tyler Englander, a Virginia state Capitol reporter for ABC8 News wrote in a post on X. “DECLARE that any and all votes for or against the proposed constitutional amendment in the April 21, 2026 special election are ineffective.”

“ENJOINS Defendants and their successors from certifying the results of the April 21, 2026 special election,” Englander added.

The ruling by the court comes after the redistricting referendum passed with 1,575,331 votes, representing 51.5 percent of the tally, while 1,486,239 votes were cast against it, representing 48.5 percent of the vote, the Associated Press reported.

As a result of the referendum passing, Virginia’s congressional delegation could go “from a closely divided 6-5 split to a heavily Democratic-leaning 10-1 advantage,” the Virginia Mercury reported.

In a post on X, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones (D) said his office would “immediately file an appeal,” and added that “an activist judge should not have veto power over the People’s vote.”

“My office will immediately file an appeal in the Court of Appeals,” Jones said. “As I said last night, Virginia voters have spoken, and an activist judge should not have veto power over the People’s vote.”