RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is asking state lawmakers to meet in Richmond next week to hammer out a consensus on new congressional districts. The Democratic governor sent a letter to legislative leaders Tuesday asking them to work together in a nonpartisan and transparent way to redraw Virginia’s congressional maps ahead of a court-ordered special session on redistricting set for Aug. 17. A 2-1 ruling in June by a panel of judges directed the General Assembly to draw new boundaries by Sept. 1 to correct a 2012 redistricting plan the court found used race as the predominant factor in drawing boundaries. State Republicans have asked that the special session be postponed while that decision is appealed.
