A judge in Virginia struck down the state’s constitutional amendment on the grounds that Democrats didn’t follow their own rules and the appropriate steps before it came up for a vote in last year’s election.
Here’s more via the AP:
A Virginia judge ruled Tuesday that a proposed constitutional amendment letting Democrats redraw the state’s Congressional maps was illegal, potentially foiling their efforts to pick up seats in the U.S. House in November.
Tazewell Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. struck down the legislature’s actions on three grounds, ruling that lawmakers failed to follow their own rules for adding the redistricting amendment to a special session; failed to approve the amendment before the public began voting in last year’s general election; and failed to publish the amendment three months before the election, as required by law.
As a result, he said, the amendment was invalid and void.
Virginians for Fair Elections, a campaign that supports the redistricting resolution, said in a statement that it expects an appeal.
“Republicans court-shopped for a ruling because litigation and misinformation are the only tools they have left,” campaign manager Keren Charles Dongo said. “We’re prepared for what comes next, and Virginians deserve both the right to vote and the chance to level the playing field.”
I’m sure this will be appealed, but it sounds like this judge’s ruling is on solid ground.