When Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia ordered the blanket restoration of voting rights to more than 200,000 former felons in April, Republicans who control the state legislature swiftly filed a petition in court, accusing him of exceeding his authority. And when the state’s highest court agreed on Friday, voiding the governor’s declaration in a biting ruling, that briefly seemed to put the matter to rest.

But Mr. McAuliffe is not giving up so easily. And the decision may have laid the groundwork for more legal and political maneuvering in a state that both presidential campaigns regard as a major prize.

After the Virginia Supreme Court said on Friday that the governor could restore voting rights only on a case-by-case basis, Mr. McAuliffe said he would forgo his blanket declaration — and, instead, individually sign about 206,000 restoration orders for ex-felons, including 13,000 who had registered after his April order.

“I cannot accept that this overtly political action could succeed in suppressing the voices of many thousands of men and women,” the governor said in a statement. “The struggle for civil rights has always been a long and difficult one, but the fight goes on.”