A Virginia judge sided Tuesday with Republican state lawmakers who challenged the commonwealth’s mid-decade redistricting process, in a ruling that voids a resolution Democrats passed in a push for a new congressional map for November’s elections.
Judge Jack Hurley Jr. of the Circuit Court of Tazewell County found that the legislature broke its own rules when it started the referendum process during a special session last year, and that the process did not follow state law when it comes to amending the Virginia Constitution.
The ruling will likely be appealed. It comes days after the Virginia Senate approved a constitutional amendment allowing for mid-decade redistricting, making way for a special election to let voters weigh in as soon as this spring, before the commonwealth’s June 16 primaries.
