RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia voters approved a referendum on voting maps with a 51% majority Tuesday, but according to CBS 6 political analyst Dr. Bob Holsworth, the results face an immediate legal challenge at the state Supreme Court.
With 99% of the votes counted, the referendum passed by an 87,000-vote margin, receiving 51% "yes" votes and just over 48% "no" votes.
Holsworth noted the turnout was unexpectedly high, reaching about 90% of the turnout seen in the November governor's race.
"What you saw was a very big yes vote in Northern Virginia, and then in particular here in the Richmond area," Holsworth said.
Holsworth explained the 87,000-vote margin statewide roughly equals the "yes" vote margin in Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield combined. Meanwhile, the "no" vote was extraordinarily strong in rural, Republican areas.
Despite the voter approval, the referendum is not a finalized deal. Republicans are taking a legal challenge to the state Supreme Court this week, arguing the measure was not put on the ballot legally and objecting to the ballot's wording.
"The Supreme Court is going to hear this right away," Holsworth said.
Holsworth expects an expeditious decision because political parties must soon hold primaries for the fall elections.
The court's decision comes with unique context, as the justices previously drew the district lines that voters opted to change. Holsworth noted that while justices maintain they only deal with the law, the legislature appoints the court's members.
"A lot of Democrats think that, by and large, the court is not going to go against the will of the people, but we'll have to see," Holsworth said.
Looking ahead to the midterm elections, Democrats pushed the referendum forward with the national political climate in mind. Holsworth said Democrats historically perform well in Virginia when they make elections about Donald Trump.
"Even with the old maps, I think the Democrats were likely to pick up one and perhaps two seats in the congressional elections as well, because once again, just as they did tonight, they're going to make the midterms about Donald Trump's performance," Holsworth said.
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