Governor calls Assembly for redistricting session

(AP) Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe has set a tentative date for a court-ordered special legislative session to redraw Virginia’s congressional boundaries.

McAuliffe’s office said Tuesday the governor has informed leaders of the GOP-controlled General Assembly that he intends to call a special session on 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.

But Republican state legislative leaders asked the judges Tuesday for an extension, saying said they want to wait and see if the U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal on the case. McAuliffe said he’d reconsider the special session date if the judges granted an extension.