High Court Orders New Look at Virginia Voting District Suit
- U.S. justices unanimous in sending case back to lower court
- Black voters challenged map as improperly relying on race
A voting sign is displayed at the Grace Episcopal Church polling location in The Plains, Virginia, on Nov. 6, 2012.
Photographer: Joshua Roberts/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The U.S. Supreme Court told a lower court Wednesday to reconsider whether Virginia’s Republican lawmakers unconstitutionally drew state legislative districts along racial lines, giving a partial victory to black voters who challenged the voting map.
The lower court had upheld 12 challenged state House districts, all designed to have a voting-age population at least 55 percent black. The Supreme Court unanimously said 11 of those districts required closer scrutiny, though the justices differed in their reasoning.