A Virginia state court blocked Democrats’ plans to redistrict this year, a blow to the party’s hopes of redrawing the state’s congressional lines ahead of the midterms.

Jack Hurley Jr., a judge on the Tazewell County circuit court, ruled that Democrats did not follow the right procedure to approve the proposed constitutional amendment that would allow for the last-minute redraw of the state’s lines.

Democrats are expected to appeal the decision. But the ruling is still a major loss for the party in the ongoing mid-decade redistricting fight, and one that could — if ultimately upheld — block the party from picking up as many as four seats in next year’s midterms.

Democrats in the Legislature first passed a measure to take up redistricting in October of last year, utilizing a special session left open by then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Lawmakers took up the issue again in January, finalizing the plan to put the issue before voters ahead of the midterms.

But Hurley said using the still-open special session was not allowed because early voting in last year’s elections had already begun, and state law requires the Legislature to pass proposed constitutional amendments both before and after an election. Hurley also ruled that the proposed constitutional amendment was not properly noticed in state courts.

This is a breaking news story that will be updated.