Federal Judge Rules Virginia Redistricting Effort Is Illegal
Virginia’s redistricting effort is facing a legal setback after a federal judge ruled the Grand Assembly’s process was illegal.
According to AP, Tazewell Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. found that the Virginia Grand Assembly didn’t follow the proper procedures when introducing the constitutional amendment that would allow them to engage in a mid-decade redistricting effort. Virginia announced its redistricting effort shortly before the state held elections last November, using a still-open special session that was previously ordered by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Under Virginia law, the Grand Assembly must vote twice on an amendment to the state’s constitution before and after an election period. If the amendment passes both times, it must then be put to a public vote. Hurley ruled that the first vote passing the redistricting effort happened after people had already cast early votes, making it invalid.
Politico adds that Hurley also ruled that since the redistricting effort was passed through party lines and didn’t pass with a two-thirds state Senate majority, it was a violation of the Grand Assembly’s rules regarding special session votes. “Certainly, both houses of the Commonwealth’s legislature are required to follow their own rules and resolutions,” Hurley wrote.
Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, one of the Democrats listed in the lawsuit, issued a joint statement announcing their intent to appeal the ruling. “Nothing that happened today will dissuade us from continuing to move forward and put this matter directly to the voters,” the Democratic lawmakers said. “We will be appealing this ruling immediately, and we expect to prevail.” Virginia Republicans previously filed a lawsuit shortly after the first redistricting vote was held, but the judge in that case ruled that the redistricting effort could continue.
Julie Merz, head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, released a statement implying that Hurley overreached in his ruling. “This rogue decision is a disappointing, but temporary setback issued by a lower court that will be immediately appealed—where we’re confident it will be overturned,” Merz’s statement read. “The order issued today has no constitutional basis, but is instead a desperate attempt to keep electoral power out of the hands of Virginia voters.”
“This is a clear attempt to confuse voters and block them from having a say,” Kéren Charles Dongo, head of Virginians for Fair Elections, told Politico. “We’re prepared for what comes next, and Virginians deserve both the right to vote and the chance to level the playing field.”
The ruling comes only days before state Democrats planned to reveal their new Congressional map to the public. Should Virginia Democrats successfully appeal Hurley’s ruling, they intend to implement a map that could put four new House seats in play for the Democrats ahead of this year’s midterms.
Last summer, President Donald Trump successfully convinced Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session focused on redistricting. After a fraught, months-long process, the Texas state legislature passed a map that could give Republicans five new House seats. This began a nationwide redistricting battle that has seen California implement a new Congressional map to offset Texas gains, with several Red and Blue states following suit.
Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House, with Democrats only needing a net gain of three seats to flip control. With Trump’s approval ratings plummeting and public sentiment turning on his immigration crackdown, the Trump administration’s actions may very well have torpedoed any hopes it had of maintaining control of Congress.
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Judge Rules Democrats Can Continue Virginia Redistricting Effort
