We, as a nation, celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 last week. The goal was to increase participation and ensure fairness in the electoral process by prohibiting racial discrimination in voting. Judging by the events of this past week in Richmond, we still have a long way to go.

For those of you unfamiliar with the events as they unfolded, Gov. Terry McAuliffe made a recess appointment to the Supreme Court of Virginia following the retirement of Justice LeRoy F. Millette Jr. The interim appointment of Jane Marum Roush, a highly respected jurist who has served on the Fairfax Circuit Court, was made at the urging of the Fairfax delegation, including Dave Albo, the Republican chair of the House Committe on Courts of Justice.

Several days later, the General Assembly’s GOP leadership, including Tommy Norment, who represents Gloucester in the Senate of Virginia, pulled an overtly partisan move, saying that Republicans will support another qualified candi...