Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts issued a stay that will allow West Virginia to proceed with a previously approved redistricting map, according to the Associated Press.

This will be the map in place for the 2012 election cycle.

How West Virginia proceeds to pass a permanent map for the rest of the decade and the legal options are unknowns at this point, according to a source in the state.

Although the legal fight is over redistricting, the dispute is not partisan in nature, as is typically the case. The West Virginia Legislature passed the new map with relative ease in August.

A lower court’s three-judge panel struck down that map on Jan. 3, citing disparities in the population between the districts. The range in population between the state’s three districts was within several thousand people.

By tradition, West Virginia draws its Congressional maps by county lines.

Candidate filing began Jan. 9 and concludes Jan. 28. The primary is May 8.