RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Republicans are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to put a new congressional map for Virginia on hold and allow the 2016 elections to proceed under the old boundaries.
A three-judge panel last week ordered the state to impose a new redistricting plan crafted by a court-appointed expert. The panel had previously ruled that lawmakers in 2012 illegally packed black voters into the 3rd Congressional District, represented by Democrat Bobby Scott, to make surrounding districts safer for GOP incumbents.
The state's Republican members of Congress are appealing that ruling to the Supreme Court. They argued in a petition filed Tuesday that the new map should be shelved until the Supreme Court rules on their appeal. The court likely will hear arguments in March.
