Virginia Supreme Court upholds 11 challenged state legislative districts
The Supreme Court of Virginia declined to set aside a ruling that upheld 11 General Assembly districts that were challenged as being designed for political purposes.
In the Thursday ruling, the state’s high court upheld a March ruling by Richmond Circuit Court Judge W. Reilly Marchant.
Redistricting reform group OneVirginia2021 brought the lawsuit, and both rulings are a setback for those who want to take politics out of district line drawing, which is done by the Virginia General Assembly and approved by the governor.
The plaintiffs who sued the state argued that the districts were a politically motivated gerrymander and were not compact as required by law. But lawyers with the office of Attorney General Mark Herring and a private firm retained to represent the Virginia House of Delegates argued that the districts conformed with state constitutional requirements.
Read more: http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/virginia-supreme-court-upholds-challenged-state-legislative-districts/article_d192faf3-455d-572f-8a63-5e2e13b8a71c.html
