SCOTUS Rules For Virginia Dems On Gerrymandering

The Hill reports:

The Supreme Court has ruled against the Virginia House of Delegates in a racial gerrymandering case that represents a victory for Democrats in the state.

In the 5-4 ruling, the justices found that the House didn’t have the standing to appeal a lower court ruling that found that the new district maps must be used ahead of the 2020 election. Those new maps are already in use.

Democrats claimed that the districts were unlawful because they featured too many black voters, and diminished their power across the state and in other districts. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion, and was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Neil Gorsuch.

Interestingly enough, Tom Hofeller, GOP gerrymandering mastermind behind census citizenship question, was hired by VA GOP House to defend racially gerrymandered maps that SCOTUS just declined to put back in place https://t.co/XSElqmcxJL pic.twitter.com/b9IRT7BH6E

— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) June 17, 2019

In Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill, #SCOTUS rules that Virginia legislators lack the legal right to appeal a lower-court ruling that requires 11 state legislative districts to be redrawn to correct racial gerrymandering

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 17, 2019

Breaking: SCOTUS rules VA legislature doesn’t have standing to challenge lower court decision striking down state legislative districts as racial gerrymandering. 5-4 decision by RBG. This is victory for voting rights & boosts chances Dems will retake VA legislature in 2019

— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) June 17, 2019