The Supreme Court sent Virginia Republicans back to the racist drawing board so they can come up with another plan to weaken the black vote, after ruling that the Virginia House of Delegates didnโt have the standing to appeal a lower court ruling that found a redrawing of districts to be mad racist.
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According to The Hill, in the 5-4 ruling, Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was appointed by Trump, turned his back on his brethren and voted for whatโs right. Gorsuch joined Justices Ruth Bader Ginsbergโwho penned the decisionโClarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan.
The Hill notes that new district maps, which are already in use, must be used for the 2020 elections.
From The Hill:
Virginia Democrats had challenged the 11 districts for the stateโs House of Delegates, which were drawn after the 2010 census, and each have a population with at least 55 percent black residents of voting age.
The Supreme Court has previously held that race canโt be the leading factor in the creation of state districts. The justices first took on the case in 2015, but sent it back down to a lower court for reconsideration.
But lawyers for the GOP-held House of Delegates claimed that by making sure that each legislative district had 55 percent black voters, the state was ensuring that their voting power wasnโt diminished.
Virginia House Democrats were happy about the ruling, calling it โa major win for voting rights and civil rights in our Commonwealth,โ The Hill notes.
โHouse Republicans have spent millions of taxpayer dollars defending racial gerrymandering in a protracted legal battleโa battle in which they lacked legal standing,โ House Democratic Leader Eileen Filler-Corn and Caucus Chairwoman Charniele Herring said in a joint statement to The Hill.
โFinally, Virginians in the affected districts have the assurance that they will vote in constitutional districts in this yearโs election.โ
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D) said in a statement viewed by The Hill that it is โunfortunate that House Republicans wasted millions of taxpayer dollars and months of litigation in a futile effort to protect racially gerrymandered districts.โ
โ[B]ut the good news is that this fallโs elections will take place in constitutionally drawn districts,โ he added.
Justices Samuel Alito, John Roberts, Stephen Breyer and Brett Kavanaugh all hated, but that was to be expected as they were placed on the highest court to hate all things fair and right.
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