RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Democratic activist who is suing Virginia elections officials told a federal appeals court that new House elections must be held this year under newly drawn legislative district lines.

But the state said last year’s elections were “perfectly constitutional” and that the lawsuit should be dismissed.

The hearing before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday marked the latest turn in a long-running legal battle by Paul Goldman.

Goldman is a former state Democratic party chair who argues that House members must run in 2022 under new maps that properly align legislative districts with population shifts.

They ran under old lines last year because late census results delayed the redistricting process.