Virginia Supreme Court throws out redistricting results 

The Virginia Supreme Court threw out Democrats’ redistricting referendum on Friday, ruling 4-3 that it didn’t follow the proper procedures. 

The decision casts aside the state’s new congressional map that would’ve given Democrats a 10-1 tilt in Virginia. Under the ruling, the 6-5 map will stay in place.

“This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void,” Justice Arthur Kelsey wrote for the majority. 

Virginia voters last month had approved a state constitutional amendment that allowed the legislature to temporarily draw new lines mid-decade, a move pitched by Democrats as a response to redistricting in red states backed by President Trump. The map was set to give Democrats four more pickup opportunities this fall as the party fights to flip the House.   

But legal challenges contended the push violated procedural requirements baked into the Virginia Constitution. To pass an amendment, lawmakers must vote for it in two separate legislative sessions, with an intervening election in between.  

Virginia Democrats took the first vote on Oct. 31 of last year, arguing they could still act because Election Day wasn’t until the next week. But........

© The Hill