The Virginia State Conference of the NAACP released a statement on Wednesday expressing support for special elections for the House of Delegates this year due to the outdated maps that were used in last year’s elections.

The Virginia NAACP’s reads as follows:

“The Virginia State Conference of the NAACP (Virginia NAACP) has worked tirelessly to ensure that Virginia’s redistricting maps provide fair representation for all Virginians, and in particular for Virginians of color whose voices have historically not been heard. The United States Constitution mandates that Virginia’s General Assembly districts contain substantially equal population so that each vote is given equal representational weight – one person, one vote. However, because the 2021 elections were conducted on outdated maps, this is not currently the case. Therefore, new elections must be held on the new General Assembly maps in order to protect the constitutional rights of all Virginians to equal representation. 

“This is not about politics, but rather this is about upholding the fundamental rights inherent to our democratic form of government. We hope and trust that the courts will uphold these rights by ordering new elections to be held this year under the new General Assembly maps, so as to ensure that Virginia complies with the Constitution’s mandate of equal representation throughout the remainder of the current General Assembly term. Justice delayed in this matter is justice denied to all Virginians.”

The NAACP is the oldest civil rights organization in the country, and since its founding in 1909, the organization has fought for voting rights and racial equality.