Press Release – Coalition Welcomes Tazewell County Circuit Court Decision
Virginia Fair Elections has welcomed the decision by Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack S. Hurley Jr. that the legislative effort to redraw Virginia’s congressional map cannot proceed due to serious procedural irregularities.
Lynn Taylor, Chair of Virginia Fair Elections, issued the following statement:
“This ruling is a step in the right direction, but it is far from a final decision. There’s a reason that the Virginia Constitution requires an election before the General Assembly considers an amendment for the second time. That reason is to give all Virginians the chance to choose who represents them, knowing that the amendment might be brought before the General Assembly a second time. It plays a part in their voting decisions.
This court ruling is a clear victory for common sense, but as we all know, one lower court ruling does not make a final decision. This will be appealed by those who wish to ride roughshod over our Constitution, and given the high stakes of keeping Virginia’s elections fair, it may well go all the way to the Supreme Court.
We may have won the battle, and it’s an encouraging sign that we have done so, but we have not yet won the war.
In principle, we oppose the notion that either side should be able to control the zoning pencil. Virginians already voted on this principle in 2020, affirming by a massive majority the principle that boundaries should be drawn fairly and not gerrymandered. Indeed, Abigail Spanberger herself supported such fairness in a tweet back in 2019. We hope that she will re-find that bipartisan view.
Gerrymandered maps are not fair maps. They would push hundreds of thousands more Virginians into seats where their views will be unrepresented by their representatives. This whole amendment screams of political game-playing and a blatant disregard for the principle of self-determination. Whether in the legislature, the courts, or at the ballot box, Virginians must reject this revenge gerrymandering.”
