Virginia says ‘yes’ to controversial redistricting proposal, but VA Supreme Court still has to weigh in

[1srelluc]

https://www.wric.com/news/politics/local-election-hq/virginia-redistricting-referendum-results/

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia voters have approved a controversial proposal that will redraw the state’s congressional map, according to the Associated Press (AP) — but the court system still has to weigh in before all is said and done.

On Tuesday, April 21, Virginia held a referendum on a constitutional amendment designed to give legislators the power to redraw the state’s congressional map mid-decade. Under current Virginia law, these maps are meant to be redrawn every 10 years — in line with the U.S. Census — through a process that includes a bipartisan commission.

Under the plan, many Virginians will see their congressional district change, which means they’ll be represented by — and able to vote on the future of — a different member of Congress. Ten of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts will favor Democrats at the ballot box, based on historical electoral data.

However, even if that victory becomes official, the plan still faces a major hurdle: the Supreme Court of Virginia. The proposal has been wrapped up in a complicated court battle since before Spanberger even signed the bill that contained it into law.

After a Tazewell County judge moved to block the proposal twice, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled that the election could proceed. The justices said that past precedent dictated that the court should not prevent elections from taking place, adding that they would proceed with examining the proposal if voters approved it.

“[This case] involve weighty assertions of invalidity against the process employed by the Virginia General Assembly in an effort to submit a proposed constitutional amendment to the citizens of the Commonwealth,” the justices said in their opinion. “These issues are of grave concern to the Court. But consistent with [past precedent], we offer no opinion on the ultimate resolution.

It is the process, not the outcome, of this effort that we may ultimately have to address. Issuing an injunction to keep Virginians from the polls is not the proper way to make this decision.”

Virginia Democrats are facing two challenges regarding the legality of the redistricting plan. They’re accused of violating procedural rules when adding the proposal to the 2024 Special Session of the General Assembly, as well as using misleading language to describe the plan on ballots.

So the game is not over till it's over.....Hope springs eternal but I'm not gonna hold my breath.

BTW....The dems planned to go to the Virginia Supreme Court had they lost.

No idea why some of this was lined out.

 

[Hafar1014]

The SC will never allow this power grab to stand

 

[JoeB131]

The SC will never allow this power grab to stand

Why not? They've approved redistricting schemes in other states, and those weren't even backed by a referendum.

 

[Hafar1014]

Why not? They've approved redistricting schemes in other states, and those weren't even backed by a referendum.

Lets see what they rule

 

[1srelluc]

Dems Win In Virginia, Could Lose In Court

While the left's naked power grab may be hypocritical, partisan map-making is not the problem — legally speaking.

thefederalist.com

Virginia’s constitution is quite explicit in its language requiring electoral districts to be “contiguous and compact.” One look will tell you the maps don’t fit the bill. Blahous said it’s like the late-Justice Potter Stewart’s famous aphorism on pornography: “I know it when you see it.”


In an amicus brief filed in the Virginia Supreme Court, the Honest Elections Project argues that Tuesday’s referendum itself was illegal because the legislature unconstitutionally ran an extended “special session” to pass the measure setting up the ballot issue.

Under Virginia’s constitution, such amendment proposals must pass in two sessions of the legislature — with an intervening election. The special session began in 2024 and was extended in 2025 before Democrats added consideration of the redistricting effort to a session that was supposed to be about the budget.

Snead said the timelines laid out in the commonwealth’s constitution ensure that if the legislature pushes an unpopular constitutional amendment, voters have a chance to elect a new legislature and stop the process. There was no real pause on the road to the amendment question, the amicus brief asserts.

“What the Democrats in Richmond have done is steamroll that entire process,” Snead said.

Despite the legal questions before it, the Virginia Supreme Court in February stayed a lower court’s temporary injunction, a move that allowed the election to go on. The justices’ decision, however, did not “resolve the underlying legal claims about whether the General Assembly followed proper procedures in advancing the amendment,” the Virginia Mercury reported.

 

[Zincwarrior]

I guess Trump shouldn't have started this midterm gerrymandering bullshit.

 

[1srelluc]

I guess Trump shouldn't have started this midterm gerrymandering bullshit.

What Trump does in DC has shit all to do with the vile dems overstepping in Richmond.

 

[Zincwarrior]

What Trump does in DC has shit all to do with the vile dems overstepping in Richmond.

Horsehit. Trump pushed this crap in MAGA states. This is the retribution.

 

[Lisa558]

Horsehit. Trump pushed this crap in MAGA states. This is the retribution.

Oh please. The Dems started in with their gerrymandering long ago. The GOP finally pushed back.

https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/590097-democrats-created-gerrymandering-they-must-own-it/

 

[Blaster]

Horsehit. Trump pushed this crap in MAGA states. This is the retribution.

Two wrongs never made a right.