The Supreme Court on Monday ruled against the Republican-controlled Virginia House of Delegates in a racial gerrymandering case, saying that the House doesn't have the standing to appeal a decision from a lower court that ordered the redrawing of 11 state legislative districts that must be in place before the 2020 elections.

The districts were redrawn after a three-judge federal panel invalidated those districts drawn in 2011, arguing that they violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. Voters challenging Virginia's 2011 map argued that black voters were packed into a dozen districts to dilute their votes in other parts of the state.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion and was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. The majority argued that a legislative chamber doesn't have the right to challenge the ruling because it "lacks standing to represent the State's interests." Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, declined to appeal the lower-court decision.

"In short, the State of Virginia would rather stop than fight on. One House of its bicameral legislature cannot alone continue the litigation against the will of its partners in the legislative process," Ginsburg wrote.

In the dissenting opinion, Justice Samuel Alito argued that the House of Delegates has the legal standing to pursue an appeal. Alito was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Stephen Breyer.

Virginia's redrawn legislative districts are already in effect. The state held legislative primary elections last week with the redrawn districts. The ruling could give a boost to Democrats who will be battling for control of both legislative chambers in the November general election.

By the end of the month, the Supreme Court will also release rulings on partisan gerrymandering cases in Maryland and North Carolina. The North Carolina case involves an alleged Republican gerrymander, while the Maryland case involves an alleged Democratic one.

