TAZEWELL CO., VA – The redistricting vote is now caught in another legal standoff.
A Tazewell County Circuit Court judge has ruled the process used to get this amendment on the ballot may not have followed Virginia law, and because of that, the results from this week’s special election can’t move forward.
Judge Jack Hurley called the amendment ‘void ab initio,’ or void from the start, denying certification of the election.
“We want to protect the right to vote, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Attorney General Jay Jones said.
Jones says his office is pushing back.
“The folks in Virginia deserve clarity. We appealed immediately with the Virginia Court of Appeals,” Jones said.
The judge lays out three main concerns: Whether lawmakers followed the required steps, whether the amendment was properly passed a second time, and whether the timing of the election was legal.
The judge also took issue with what voters saw on their ballots, writing the question was a ‘flagrantly misleading’ description of the amendment, and that it did not accurately reflect what lawmakers approved.
Hurley previously struck down redistricting before the vote took place, but the election moved forward while legal challenges played out in the courts.
“We appealed that decision from Tazewell before, and we appealed yesterday’s decision as well. We’re looking forward to getting before the court and sharing our arguments about why the will of the people should be enforced, and then it will be in their hands to make an ultimate decision,” Jones said.
Jones believes the appeal will quickly land before the Virginia Supreme Court, which is also expected to hear arguments next week in a separate redistricting lawsuit.
“With previous situations with this matter, we did that, and they pushed it straight to the Supreme Court, so we fully expect that this will ultimately end up with the folks down the street from our office here,” Jones said.