Court strikes down Va. congressional map
By TARINI PARTI | 10/7/14 4:16 PM EDT Updated: 10/7/14 5:48 PM EDT
A panel of federal judges in Virginia struck down the state’s congressional map on Tuesday, arguing that the GOP-controlled state legislature’s decision to pack African-Americans in the 3rd District, which is represented by Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott, was purely motivated by race — a violation of the 14th Amendment.
“[W]e find that Plaintiffs have shown race predominated,” the opinion states. “We find that the Third Congressional District cannot survive review under the exacting standard of strict scrutiny.”
The existing map will remain in effect for the 2014 elections, the court ruled, ordering the state legislature to redraw the map by April 1, 2015.
The decision in Virginia is the latest decision in Democrats’ efforts to reverse what they see as Republican gerrymandering in several states. Florida’s GOP-controlled state legislature was also forced to redraw their congressional map earlier this year after a Democratic suit invalidated the lines.
Redrawing the map in Virginia has the potential to upend the composition of the state’s delegation in Congress. Despite the state’s purple tint, Democrats control just three of the state’s 11 districts, and just one seat is truly competitive – only as a result of the retirement of GOP Rep. Frank Wolf.
“We are pleased with the ruling,” said Brian Smoot of the National Democratic Redistricting Trust, which is largely funding the redistricting battles — including in Virginia — and is run by for former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee staffers.
“The current make up of the congressional delegation does not reflect the voters across Virginia,” Smoot added. “We expect this to help alleviate that problem.”
Justin Levitt, a redistricting expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who also worked as the Democratic National Committee’s National Voter Protection counsel in 2008, said the decision was a victory for Democrats but added he doesn’t expect the map to have a significant political impact because it will still be drawn by Republicans.
The case, however, could help Democrats in several other states like North Carolina and California, where they are fighting similar redistricting battles, Levitt said.
“The court essentially said when race is the biggest factor [in drawing a district], it has to be nuanced,” he said. “They need to use scalpel in drawing the districts, not a meat cleaver.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/10/court-strikes-down-va-congressional-map-111677.html#ixzz3FV6Ux9ZW
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