RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A federal judge has suggested a conditional fix for redrawing Virginia's congressional map.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne made the suggestion during a hearing on Monday. Payne is a member of a three-judge panel that twice ruled legislators in 2012 illegally packed voters into the 3rd congressional district in order to make adjacent districts safer for Republican incumbents.
The panel had ordered the General Assembly to redraw maps by Sept. 1. But lawmakers balked and the court is going to redraw the boundaries itself.
Payne said imposing a new map could be made contingent upon a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by Virginia Republicans who seek reinstatement of the map drawn by lawmakers.
