Post by Logan on Feb 1, 2016 18:43:42 GMT -6
Supreme Court rejects request to delay Virginia's new congressional districts
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday turned down a request by Virginia's Republican members of Congress to delay enacting new district boundaries.
The ruling means the state must proceed with this fall’s congressional elections using new district maps that dramatically change the makeup of the 4th District, represented by Republican Randy Forbes, and the 3rd, represented by Democrat Bobby Scott.
The new lines were drawn earlier this year after federal judges in Richmond ruled in a lawsuit that the Virginia General Assembly in 2012 unconstitutionally packed too many black voters in Scott’s district. The lawsuit argued that the legislature's actions weakened the clout of blacks in nearby districts. Scott, a Newport News Democrat, is the only black person elected to Congress from Virginia since the 1880s.
Forbes and the state’s seven other GOP House members appealed to the Supreme Court to reject the new maps, arguing they were not fairly drawn. As they await a court hearing, they had asked Justice Roberts to issue a stay that would block the new maps and use the previous boundaries for the 2016 election.
Read more: pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/virginia/supreme-court-rejects-request-to-delay-virginia-s-new-congressional/article_a58cb516-47f1-5654-97ff-ff88a63fbd0e.html
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday turned down a request by Virginia's Republican members of Congress to delay enacting new district boundaries.
The ruling means the state must proceed with this fall’s congressional elections using new district maps that dramatically change the makeup of the 4th District, represented by Republican Randy Forbes, and the 3rd, represented by Democrat Bobby Scott.
The new lines were drawn earlier this year after federal judges in Richmond ruled in a lawsuit that the Virginia General Assembly in 2012 unconstitutionally packed too many black voters in Scott’s district. The lawsuit argued that the legislature's actions weakened the clout of blacks in nearby districts. Scott, a Newport News Democrat, is the only black person elected to Congress from Virginia since the 1880s.
Forbes and the state’s seven other GOP House members appealed to the Supreme Court to reject the new maps, arguing they were not fairly drawn. As they await a court hearing, they had asked Justice Roberts to issue a stay that would block the new maps and use the previous boundaries for the 2016 election.
Read more: pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/virginia/supreme-court-rejects-request-to-delay-virginia-s-new-congressional/article_a58cb516-47f1-5654-97ff-ff88a63fbd0e.html