On October 7, a 3-judge U.S. District Court in the eastern district invalidated Virginia’s U.S. House district boundaries. The case is Page v Virginia State Board of Elections, 3:13cv-678. Here is the opinion, which was 2-1. Including the dissent, the decision is 102 pages.
The decision will have no effect on this year’s election. The majority found that the Virginia legislature injured black voters by increasing the percentage of black voters in the Third District, which has been represented by Congressman Bobby Scott for over 20 years. Scott is black and always wins by at least 70%. The majority says that the current district lines injure blacks by “packing” too many of them into the Third District, so that there are fewer black voters in the adjoining districts.
All three judges were appointed by Republican presidents. The majority consists of Judge Allyson Dundan (who is herself black), and Judge Liam O’Grady, both of whom were appointed by President George W. Bush. The dissent is by Judge Robert Payne, an appointee of George H. W. Bush. The decision seems to be bad news for the Republican Party, because currently Virginia has 8 Republican U.S. House members and only 3 Democratic House members, and new boundaries may put some of the Republican districts in danger. Here is a Washington Post story about the decision, which has a map of the existing Third district. It is not even contiguous, except over water.
