This browser does not support the Video element.
Virginia voters approve redistricting plan
Virginia voters went to the polls on Tuesday, approving a new redistricting plan that could give several extra U.S. House seats to Democrats. Nathaniel Rakich, Votebeat's Managing Editor spoke with LiveNOW's Christy Matino to discuss the potential impacts.
Virginia on Tuesday became the latest state to approve a partisan redistricting plan that could boost Democrats’ chances of winning four additional U.S. House seats in November’s midterm elections.
The measure bypasses a bipartisan redistricting commission to allow the use of new districts drawn by Virginia’s Democratic-led General Assembly. Virginia now joins six other states in approving new maps to influence which party gets control of the House. Here’s the latest:
Redistricting battle takes shape
The backstory:
President Donald Trump kicked off a national redistricting battle last year by urging Republican officials in Texas to redraw districts. The goal was to help Republicans win more seats in the November elections and hold on to a narrow House majority, but the redistricting in Texas led to a burst of redistricting nationwide. New maps in Democrat-led states have so far canceled out the gains in Republican states.
RELATED: Virginia voters back redistricting plan, here’s what that means for seats in Congress
Where new redistricting maps were approved
Local perspective:
So far, Republicans believe they can win up to nine more House seats in newly redrawn districts in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio. Democrats think they can win up to five more seats in California, where voters approved a similar mid-decade redistricting effort last November, and one more seat under new court-imposed districts in Utah.
RELATED: Trump admits gas prices could remain high through November elections
Democrats hope to offset the rest of that gap in Virginia, if it holds up in court.
FILE: Virginia became the latest state to redraw its House maps to influence the midterm elections in favor of Democrats (Photographer: Cornell Watson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
States that could approve redistricting maps
What's next:
Florida’s Republican-led Legislature is set to convene April 28 for a special session that could result in more favorable congressional districts for Republicans. If that happens, Republicans would have an edge in the redistricting battle.
READ MORE: Justice Jackson criticizes conservative justices’ pro-Trump court rulings
According to The New York Times, a pending Supreme Court case could strike down part of the Voting Rights Act that bans racial gerrymandering. That would give more GOP-led states a chance to redraw their maps before the midterms.
The Source: This article includes information from The Associated Press, The New York Times and previous FOX Local reporting.