April 22 (UPI) -- A judge in rural Virginia on Wednesday blocked the results of Tuesday's state referendum, barring lawmakers, at least temporarily, from implementing a new congressional map that favored Democrats in November's midterm elections.
The five-page ruling by Judge Jack Hurley of the Tazewell County Circuit Court sided with the Republican National Committee, which was challenging the results of Tuesday's special election.
On Tuesday, 51.4% of the more than 3 million Virginians who voted approved amending the state's Constitution to permit a mid-decade congressional district map redraw, according to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections.
The new map is expected to favor Democrats to win 10 of the state's 11 congressional districts. The Democrats currently hold six of the state's 11 congressional seats and Republicans hold five.
Hurley agreed with each of the RNC's claims, including that the legislation supporting the map redraw violated General Assembly rules and that the question voters were asked -- "Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections" -- was "a flagrantly misleading question to the voters, and because the ballot language did not accurately describe the proposed amendment as it was passed by the General Assembly."
