A federal court has picked a new congressional map for Virginia that significantly changes the racial makeup of two districts, but could be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. A three-judge panel on Thursday ordered the state to implement a new redistricting map for the 2016 election. The move comes after the panel concluded for a second time last year that legislators in 2012 illegally packed black voters into the 3rd Congressional District, represented by Democrat Bobby Scott. The judges initially ordered the General Assembly to redraw the lines, but when lawmakers balked, the judges hired an expert to help them do it themselves.
The new map significantly alters Scott’s district and the 4th Congressional District, represented by Republican Randy Forbes.
Scott’s district, which currently stretches from Richmond to the Tidewater area with a certain area connected loosely only by the James River, is made more compact and goes from having a black voting-age population of 56 percent to 45 percent.
Forbes’ neighboring district in southeast Virginia sees a nine percent jump in its black voting-age population, going from 31 percent to 40 percent.
Full Article: Judges pick new congressional map for Virginia.