(Adnkronos) – A state judge has blocked the new electoral map of Virginia from taking effect, declaring all votes cast in Tuesday’s referendum, won by the Democrats, “invalid”. The ruling was applauded by the Republican national committee, which accused Democrats of “attempting to impose an unconstitutional scheme to manipulate elections in their favor”. Accusations that Donald Trump had made yesterday in a post denouncing “fraud” and anticipating the intervention of judges.
“Virginia voters have spoken and a politicized judge cannot have veto power over the citizens’ vote, we look forward to defending the election results in court,” replied Jay Jones, the Democratic attorney general, announcing the appeal. By redrawing four electoral districts to favor the election of Democratic representatives, the new electoral map represents an important victory in the gerrymandering war, the manipulation of electoral districts, last summer by Republicans in Texas, at the instigation of Trump himself.
In his ruling, Judge Jack Hurley states that the referendum would have violated several clauses of the Virginia Constitution and defined the referendum question as “openly misleading,” an argument also used by Trump in his post. With a three-percentage-point margin, voters approved the amendment authorizing the Legislative Assembly, controlled by Democrats, to redraw electoral districts, as it did earlier this year. In January, Judge Hurley had declared the amendment unconstitutional, but then the Virginia Supreme Court gave the green light to the referendum.
