What does ‘election’ mean? One answer doomed Virginia’s new congressional map
CNN • • nation
Key Points:
- Virginia’s Supreme Court invalidated a new congressional map that could have given Democrats four additional House seats, ruling 4-3 that the state legislature did not follow proper constitutional procedure in approving a redistricting amendment.
- The court’s majority defined an “election” as beginning with early voting, which started before the legislature’s first approval of the amendment, making the subsequent referendum invalid since voters had already cast ballots.
- The dissent argued that an election is defined by Election Day itself, citing state law and constitutional language, and warned that the majority’s interpretation creates legal paradoxes and conflicts with existing statutes.
- The ruling highlights the ongoing partisan battle over redistricting, with Republicans pushing aggressive mid-decade map changes and Democrats attempting counter-gerrymanders, raising broader concerns about the legitimacy of upcoming congressional elections.
- Despite the ruling, Democrats have appealed to the US Supreme Court to reinstate the map, though the emergency appeal is considered unlikely to succeed, leaving Virginia’s midterm elections subject to the old district boundaries.