RICHMOND — Virginia Democrats are ramping up the legal firepower in their bid to push through congressional redistricting this year, with Attorney General Jay Jones (D) petitioning to intervene on behalf of the General Assembly in a court case that has created a roadblockfor the effort.
Jones filed a petition Monday in Tazewell County Circuit Court, where Judge Jack S. Hurley Jr. last week ruled that a proposed constitutional amendment designed to let Democrats create a congressional map that favors their party was passed improperly by the legislature.
House Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) immediately filed an appeal of that ruling, and the state Court of Appeals referred Scott’s request for a stay back to the trial judge. If the judge declines to grant a stay of his earlier decision, the matter will return to the appellate court.
In his filing this week, Jones notes that his Republican predecessor, former attorney general Jason S. Miyares, was in office when GOP lawmakers filed the original lawsuit last fall. The transition to a new attorney general creates an opportunity for him to intervene, Jones argues.
As “the chief legal officer” of the state, the attorney general has a responsibility to represent Virginia’s interests in legal challenges that involve the state constitution and to defend “the legality of the actions taken by the General Assembly,” Jones wrote in the court filing.
Democrats have used their majorities in both the state Senate and the House of Delegates to advance a proposed amendment to the Virginia constitution that would give lawmakers power to draw new congressional maps in time for this fall’s midterm elections. If passed by voters in a referendum scheduled for April 21, Democrats could create maps that give their party as much as a 10-1 advantage in the state’s congressional delegation, rather than the current split of six Democrats and five Republicans.
The effort is a response to President Donald Trump’s encouragement of Republican states to create red-leaning districts to help the GOP retain control of the U.S. House this fall. Texas and North Carolina have done so, while Virginia joins California and Maryland among blue states looking to respond in kind.
The matter has injected extra partisan rancor into a General Assembly session that kicked off last month with newly sworn-in Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) promising an era of unity and pragmatism. Democrats scrambled to pass legislation to do an end-run around the claims of the lawsuit, which Republicans filed in a bright-red district in the far southwest corner of the state.
Meanwhile, Democrats have been squabbling among themselves over how to configure the maps, which they promised to reveal early so the voters of Virginia know what to expect when going into the referendum. Several Democrats who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations said the House and Senate are clashing over exact boundaries, with lawmakers in both chambers hoping to run for the new seats.
The stalemate was initially reported by Punchbowl News. Democrats said Tuesday that they expect the situation to resolve soon but offered no predictions on timing.
Jones petitioned the judge to immediately add him to the case so he can submit a brief within 30 days.
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