Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, a Democrat, promised Wednesday night to appeal a judge’s block on the state’s redistricting referendum, which narrowly passed Tuesday night.

The Tazewell County Circuit Court issued the injunction barring the certification of the referendum after ruling the measure was unconstitutional. 

“As I said last night, Virginia voters have spoken, and an activist judge should not have veto power over the People’s vote,” Jones said in a statement shared on X. “We look forward to defending the outcome of last night’s election in court.”

The referendum allows the state legislature to redraw its congressional maps in a manner expected to favor Democrats by giving Democrats a 10-1 majority instead of its current 6-5. 

The order will likely head to the state Supreme Court, which is already expected to address a challenge to the referendum later this month.

The Virginia Supreme Court declined to block the referendum outright in March, saying “[i]t is the process, not the outcome, of this effort that we may ultimately have to address. Issuing an injunction to keep Virginians from the polls is not the proper way to make this decision.”

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.