Washington ( CNN ) -- The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld West Virginia 's redrawn congressional districts , and officials hope to have the changes in place for the November vote . The justices said in an unsigned opinion on Tuesday that a divided three-judge federal district court panel had `` misapplied the standards for evaluating '' challenges to voting maps drawn by the state legislature . The case was thrown back to the lower court , which is expected to approve the changes in time for Election Day . West Virginia officials indicated previously they would use the redrawn map if they prevailed in court . All states are required to redo their voting boundaries following the recently completed U.S. Census . There are about 30 court cases nationally dealing with similar challenges . The issue before the Supreme Court was whether population variances among West Virginia 's three congressional districts were enough to violate the law . Decades old Supreme Court precedent has solidified the `` one person , one vote '' standard to ensure equal voting districts . Precedent also requires states to make a `` good faith effort '' to achieve equality in voting districts , but that those districts need not be drawn with `` precise mathematical equality . '' The lower court concluded last January that the redrawn districts did not provide equal representation among seats for the U.S. House . The state is represented by Republicans David McKinley and Shelley Moore Capito and Democrat Nick Rahall . The redrawn maps were used in May primaries . West Virginia 's plan was approved by large margins in the state Senate and the House of Delegates , then signed into law by Democratic Gov . Earl Tomblin . Commissioners in Jefferson County originally sued to block the state from carrying out its plan , saying other legislative proposals would better achieve lower population variances . West Virginia state officials told the Supreme Court in their appeal that crafting a new map would be time-consuming , expensive , and cause `` irreparable harm . '' But the Supreme Court 's ruling signaled skepticism of the lower court 's insistence on `` zero variance '' in population between the districts . The redistricting process is inevitably political and partisan to some extent as the majority party in the state legislature seeks to achieve a map that will maximize its voting strengths . The case is Tennant v. Jefferson County Commission ( 11-1184 ) .
U.S. Supreme Court decision overturned lower court ruling on redrawn voter map . The justices said the state legislature had not properly drawn congressional districts in 2011 and ordered a new election for this year. Issue was whether population variances in U.S. House districts were enough to violate the law .