A controversial referendum that passed Tuesday to redistrict Virginia’s congressional maps has been blocked by a judge.
Virginia has six Democrats and five Republicans currently in Congress, but the redistricted map could lead to Democrats controlling all but one of the seats.
‘This is not saving democracy. … This is a sham.’
The Tazewell Circuit Court judge blocked the state from certifying the results of the vote and claimed that the process had broken several Virginia state laws. Republicans have filed several lawsuits against the redistricting effort.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said the state would appeal the decision.
“Virginia voters have spoken, and an activist judge should not have veto power over the people’s vote. We look forward to defending the outcome of last night’s election in court,” Jones said.
While Republicans objected vehemently to the redistricting, Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger argued that it was merely a “response to what we’re seeing in other states that have taken extreme measures to undermine democratic norms.”
Critics have pointed out the biased wording of the referendum that would mislead otherwise uninformed voters.
“Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections,” the measure reads, “while ensuring Virginia’s standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?”
RELATED: ‘Maximum warfare’: Democrats celebrate after Virginia decides to disenfranchise GOP voters
“The Democrat Party is ruthless, and what they did, you know, they wrote a ballot initiative that was completely disingenuous,” Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin said about the vote.
“This is not saving democracy,” he added. “If you look at the actual vote totals by county, which I did this morning, it proves that the 6 to 5 ratio was accurate. This is a sham.”
“House Democrats have crushed Donald Trump’s national gerrymandering scheme,” U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) claimed. “Maximum warfare, everywhere, all the time.”
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