Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid by Virginia Democrats to revive its new voter-approved congressional map that was drawn to advantage the party for the upcoming midterm elections.
In an unsigned one-sentence order, the Supreme Court left intact a ruling from Virginia’s highest court that invalidated an amendment to the state constitution authorizing adoption of the new House district lines. No dissents were noted.
Virginia Democrats had mounted a last-ditch effort to restore the new voting boundaries earlier this week, but it was considered a longshot, since the Supreme Court typically does not review interpretations of state law by a state’s highest court.
Democrats have been working to counter Republican-led redistricting efforts in several states to bolster the GOP’s chances of holding onto the House majority in November.
The mid-decade redistricting push began last year after Texas, at President Trump’s urging, adopted a congressional map that could give Republicans five additional House seats. In response, California officials drew — and voters approved — new House boundaries that aimed to net Democrats five new seats, offsetting Republicans’ potential gains in Texas. The Supreme Court has allowed both of those maps to be used in the midterm elections.
State lawmakers in North Carolina, Missouri and Florida have also reconfigured their House voting lines to give Republicans more of an advantage.
In Virginia, Democratic legislative leaders began their effort to redraw the state’s congressional map in October, when the General Assembly first passed a proposed constitutional amendment allowing it to change Virginia’s House districts in the middle of the decade. The measure was approved by state lawmakers a second time in January.
The issue went before Virginia voters in April, who approved the proposal and cleared the way for the new map.
But days later, the Supreme Court of Virginia blocked the redistricting plan. In a 4-3 decision, the court found that state lawmakers failed to follow the proper process for putting the proposal before voters, in violation of the Virginia Constitution.
State Democratic leaders sought emergency relief from the U.S. Supreme Court soon after and argued that the state court’s decision was “deeply mistaken” on issues of federal law.
“By forcing the Commonwealth to conduct its congressional elections using districts different from those adopted by the General Assembly pursuant to a constitutional amendment the people just ratified, the Supreme Court of Virginia has deprived voters, candidates, and the Commonwealth of their right to the lawfully enacted congressional districts,” they wrote in their request.
Virginia Republicans urged the high court not to grant Democrats’ request, arguing that they “have no case on the merits” and that the Supreme Court of Virginia’s decision hinged on state law, not federal law.
The request from Virginia Democrats was just the latest attempt to get the Supreme Court to intervene in state redistricting fights. While states had sought to change their maps for partisan gain, Republicans in some Southern states are also scrambling to redraw their House district boundaries after the Supreme Court weakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in a landmark decision last month.
Since then, officials in Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee have said they’ll pursue new maps ahead of their primary elections.
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