Another pretrial hearing is scheduled for later this week on the permissibility of testimony from OneVirginia2021’s expert witness, political science professor Michael McDonald of the University of Florida.

OneVirginia2021, which pushed unsuccessfully for redistricting reform legislation in the just-concluded General Assembly session, is paying for the lawsuit in part through an online crowdfunding campaign that had raised more than $26,000 from more than 550 donors since its launch last Thursday. The organization, which packed committee rooms at the Capitol to pressure lawmakers to support reform, has touted the fundraising campaign as a sign of public appetite for change.

Though OneVirginia2021 identifies as nonpartisan, some Republican lawmakers have criticized redistricting suits as a politically motivated effort to chip away at GOP majorities in the House and Senate and a waste of public resources.

The OneVirginia2021 suit, brought on behalf of a group of voters in the contested districts, names state election officials as defendants. Representatives from Attorney General Mark. R. Herring’s office attended Tuesday’s hearing but did not argue a position. The motion to have the case thrown out was made by attorneys representing the House and House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, who intervened in the case.