VA Supreme Court Strikes Down Democrats' Redistricting Plan

The Virginia Supreme Court struck down a controversial Democratic congressional redistricting plan on Friday. 

As CBN News reported, state Democrats and their allies poured $70 million into convincing Virginia voters to back their new redistricting map. Their plan was to take away enough Republican districts to help Democrats take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November's midterm election.

The current breakdown of Virginia's House seats is 6 Democratic seats to 5 Republican seats. The new map would have likely erased up to 4 Republican districts, leaving Democrats with 10 districts and Republicans with 1. 

A lower court judge had temporarily blocked the plan after voters had cast their ballots, calling the resolution "flagrantly misleading."

The state Supreme Court’s decision on Friday agreed that the process was flawed, declaring that state lawmakers violated procedural requirements when pushing their plan through. 

“This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void,” the court said in its opinion.

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Watch a discussion of the Virginia decision between CBN News' Raj Nair and Tre' Goins-Phillips.

Meanwhile, a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the federal Voting Rights Act struck down the creation of voting districts based on race. That ruling has already allowed several southern states to begin redistricting efforts that could benefit Republicans in the fall elections.

In that case, the high court struck down a newly drawn majority-black congressional district in Louisiana. Chief Justice John Roberts described it as being shaped like a "snake" because it stretches more than 200 miles from Shreveport to Baton Rouge.

In the majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote, "That map is an unconstitutional gerrymander."

FULL STORY: US Supreme Court Invalidates Louisiana's Newly Drawn Congressional District

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