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On Friday, a federal court panel reaffirmed an earlier decision throwing out Virginia's map of congressional districts, due to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.
The panel found that one district, the third, was unconstitutionally racially gerrymandered in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. "Individuals in the Third Congressional District whose constitutional rights have been injured by improper racial gerrymandering have suffered significant harm," a two-judge majority of the panel wrote.
Virginia is widely believed to be one of the most gerrymandered states in the country. In 2012, Republican House candidates won just 51 percent of the votes cast in the state — but they ended up winning eight of the state's 11 congressional districts.
The last sentence in a nutshell explains why gerrymandering happens. It allows a narrow majority to become a super-majority.
