Virginia Republicans Sue to Block Democratic Redistricting Push

A group of Virginia Republicans filed a lawsuit Tuesday aimed at halting Democrats’ plan to redraw the state’s congressional map. 

Democrats are acting in response to several GOP-controlled states that have passed gerrymanders at President Donald Trump’s request. 

The lawsuit was brought by three Republican state lawmakers serving on the Virginia Redistricting Commission, as well as a citizen member of the commission. 

Virginia Democrats convened a special legislative session Monday, becoming the second Democratic-controlled state — after California — to take up redistricting in hopes of balancing out possible GOP gains in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and perhaps other states. 

While GOP-controlled states have been able to rapidly enact Trump’s requested gerrymanders, Democratic lawmakers in California and Virginia face additional complications in redrawing maps because of voter-created independent redistricting commissions that are meant to prevent partisan redraws. 

To change their state’s map, Virginia Democrats would need to amend the state’s constitution. The map and accompanying legislation would need to pass in the current session, then again in the next session, which starts in January, before being approved by voters. Democrats hold majorities in both chambers of the Virginia legislature.

To call the current special session, Democrats reconvened a session previously called by Gov. Glenn Younkin (R) last year. In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, Republicans argued Democrats didn’t have authority to reconvene the session. They asked the court to block legislative clerks from allowing Democrats to proceed with introducing a redistricting constitutional amendment. 

“Because the General Assembly has no power to propose a constitutional amendment related to redistricting during this special sitting, any such constitutional amendment that the General Assembly purports to propose is no such thing,” the complaint argued.

The plaintiffs asked the court to declare null and void any amendments under the recently convened session.