RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia Republicans have asked a federal court to delay Virginia's 2019 primary schedule for three months to enable the U.S. Supreme Court to settle a redistricting lawsuit.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that House of Delegates Speaker Kirk Cox also formally asked the court Wednesday to suspend efforts to redraw 11 House districts found to be racially gerrymandered. A court-appointed expert is scheduled to file a redrawn map by Dec. 7.
Republicans have appealed the gerrymandering ruling to the Supreme Court in an attempt to prevent a more Democratic-friendly map. A Supreme Court ruling isn't likely to come until May or June. Legislative primaries are scheduled for June 11. Cox wants them rescheduled to Sept. 10
Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday he hopes the outstanding legal issues are quickly resolved.
Independent Commission
An independent commission rather than the General Assembly would redraw Virginia's state legislative districts after the 2020 census under a constitutional amendment proposed by a nonpartisan group.
OneVirginia2021 is opposed to what it considers the gerrymandering that occurs when Virginia's lawmakers take the lead in drawing their own legislative districts. On Thursday, the group unveiled a proposal to amend Virginia's constitution so an independent commission would draw the districts rather than the legislature.
Advocates say the amendment must pass the legislature in the 2019 and 2020 legislative sessions and a statewide referendum to be in place in time for the required redistricting in 2021.
Virginia's legislative districts have drawn judicial scrutiny for packing excessive numbers of African-American voters into a small number of districts, diluting their influence in surrounding districts.
