WorldNetDaily predictably attacked the fact that a Virginia redistricting plan was approved by voters in an April 22 article by Bob Unruh:
Voters in Virginia, by the narrowest of margins, adopted a “fairness” plan that will redistrict their voters and, if it’s not overturned in court, likely will give the Democrats a huge electoral advantage there.
The vote Tuesday immediately was mocked by publications including Not the Bee, which charged, “Democracy! 51% of Virginia decides the other 49% only gets 9% of state’s representation in Congress.”
That’s because the districts, which had been divided 6-5 in favor of the Democrats, now could end up 10-1 for that political persuasion. Democrats accomplish that by gerrymandering the districts so they look like spiders spread across the countryside.
Further, the “fairness” claim actually, inexplicably and inaccurately, was in the text of the constitutional amendment, presented by Democrats, whose allegation was that it would only be fair in the state for the 49% who oppose them get only 9% of the representation. That ballot stated, “Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional distrticts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections…”
But the entire vote was held despite court challenges, and therein may be the downfall of the scheme to manipulate the state’s representation in Congress.
A report at the Federalist explained, “Democrats and their well-heeled funders have won their rigged referendum to rig Virginia’s congressional maps, but the political boundary battle isn’t over yet.”
It wasn’t explained how something that was taken to a vote of the people — something many Republican-led states didn’t do with their redistricting plans — was “rigged.”
When a state court rejected the vote, Unruh cheered later that day:
The Democrats’ agenda in Virginia to take four more congressional seats away from Republicans and give them to Democrats, a plan they called “fairness,” has been torpedoed by a court ruling.
In their desperation to try to gain control of the House of Republicans in the fall election they want to gerrymander their state’s districts, making them look like spiders on a map, to take 10 of the state’s 11 seats.
The division right now is 6-5 for the Democrats, and the state voted on a constitutional amendment Tuesday to make the changes, leaving 49% of the population with just 9% of the congressional representation, an effort they call democracy.
Ken Cuccinelli, the state’s former attorney general and an expert on elections, announced Wednesday afternoon, “The Tazewell Circuit Court just ruled the referendum unconstitutional. The judge entered an injunction blocking certification of the election & denied a motion to stay pending appeal. A final order will be entered once drafted, & it will be immediately appealed.”
Unruh was excited that he could attack the state’s attorney general in an April 24 article:
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones soon is going to have to appear in court to defend the state’s radical redistricting scheme pushed by leftist Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who wanted 49% of the state’s population, the Republicans, to have only 9% of the state’s congressional representation.
That plan was approved, narrowly, by voters this week and it immediately was suspended by a judge who ruled it was unconstitutional for failing to meet multiple legal requirements, such as size and shape of districts, the time frame for adopting, and more.
Now constitutional expert Jonathan Turley said Jones was unable to defend it during a recent interview.
Unruh was even more excited when the state’s supreme court rejected the vote in an April 28 article:
The state Supreme Court in Virginia has refused to back, at least immediately, a radical Democrat scheme to redistrict the state’s congressional districts to give 49% of the state’s residents, the Republicans, a whopping 9% of the state’s congressional delegation.
The 91% would all go to Democrats, according to their agenda. While the districts now are split 6-5 in favor of Democrats, the leftists are demanding a 10-1 split.
Voters approved the idea just days ago.
But it’s not taking effect right away, and the state Supreme Court has denied a motion by the state attorney general and others to impose an emergency stay of an order from a circuit court which concluded the legislature failed to abide by the state’s own constitution in adopting the scheme, so it is illegal.
Unruh again refused to note that Republican-led states failed to put their redistricting to a vote.