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Virginia Governor Orders Special Legislative Session in Redistricting Case

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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is asking state lawmakers to meet in Richmond next week to hammer out a consensus on new congressional districts.

The Democratic governor sent a letter to legislative leaders Tuesday asking them to work together in a nonpartisan and transparent way to redraw Virginia's congressional maps ahead of a court-ordered special session on redistricting set for Aug. 17.

A 2-1 ruling in June by a panel of judges directed the General Assembly to draw new boundaries by Sept. 1 to correct a 2012 redistricting plan the court found used race as the predominant factor in drawing boundaries.

State Republicans have asked that the special session be postponed while that decision is appealed.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.