Court rejects Virginia redistricting in a blow to Democrats : NPR

State Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, center, speaks with the media following a hearing on new congressional maps before the state Supreme Court in Richmond, Va. on April 27.

Allen G. Breed/AP

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Allen G. Breed/AP

The Supreme Court of Virginia struck down the congressional redistricting approved by voters in April. The ruling is a major setback for Democrats’ attempt to counter the pro-GOP reshuffling of voting maps led by President Trump.

Commonwealth voters approved by a 52% to 48%  margin a constitutional amendment April 21 to allow redistricting. Responding to a lawsuit brought by Republicans, the court found that the legislature made procedural errors in how it placed the question on the ballot.

The majority opinion of the state supreme court found that the legislature violated the multi-step process for putting constitutional amendments on the ballot and that, “This constitutional violation incurably taints the resulting referendum vote and nullifies its legal efficacy.”

“This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void,” the majority wrote. It ordered that the state must use the same congressional district map in the upcoming election as it used in 2022 and 2024.

The redistricting could have helped Democrats win four House seats held by Republicans. That, combined with five seats tilted toward Democrats in California and one in Utah, made 10 seats.

But the ruling will now put the GOP and President Trump’s redistricting push far in the lead — by perhaps 10 or even 12 seats. Republican hold the U.S. House with a few seats more than Democrats already.

Florida lawmakers have since redistricted in that state in April bring to about 13 seats nationally where they’ve gained an edge. Then, after the U.S. Supreme Court weakened voting rights for minority communities last week, Republicans in Tennessee, Alabama and Louisiana began redistricting in their states. Tennessee approved a new map aimed at flipping one Democratic seat Thursday.

Usually states just redistrict at the start of the decade when the census count comes in. But Trump prompted a mid-decade redistricting race to try to hold Republican control of the House this November.

The Virginia constitution required districts to be drawn by a bipartisan commission but the amendment approved by voters granted the power to redistrict temporarily to the legislature.

To place an amendment on the ballot in Virginia, the legislature is required to vote on it twice in different special sessions with an election in between them. Lawyers for the Republicans argued that the first vote was in a special session that had been called for other topics long before.

They also argued that lawmakers didn’t hold the legislative vote in time to post notification of the amendment on courthouse doors, according to a 1902 law, 90 days before the next election.

The lawyers for the Democrats argued that the 1902 law was repealed and out of date. They also argued that the legislature set its procedures without court review and also that procedural errors shouldn’t cancel the will of the voters in an election.

This is a developing story that will be updated.