Gov. Terry McAuliffe is calling an Aug. 17 special session of the General Assembly to comply with a court order that legislators redraw the state’s congressional map by Sept. 1. “This special session is an opportunity to work together to fix Virginia’s congressional district lines so that politicians do not have a greater say in who represents Virginians than voters do,” McAuliffe said in a statement Tuesday. “I look forward to working in a bipartisan way to meet the court’s mandate to pass a fair and equitable map by the court’s deadline.”
Speaker of the House William J. Howell, R-Stafford, and Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, called the move premature and said the case should play out in court first.
“As we have said before, the General Assembly fully intends to exercise its legal right to remedy any legal flaw ultimately found by the courts with respect to the current congressional districts,” Howell and Norment said in a statement. “However, we continue to believe it would be inappropriate to act before the defendants have fully litigated this case.”
Full Article: McAuliffe plans Aug. 17 special session to redraw congressional map – Richmond Times-Dispatch: Virginia Politics.