After weeks of back-and-forths with Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis on redistricting, the Republican-led state Legislature caved and announced it will effectively cede the map-drawing reins to him.
The move, should it receive DeSantis’s signature and withstand legal muster, sets the stage for a very GOP-friendly apportionment of the state’s federal districts.
DESANTIS VETOES GOP-BACKED FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL MAP
“At this time, Legislative reapportionment staff is not drafting or producing a map for introduction during the special session. We are awaiting a communication from the Governor’s Office with a map that he will support. Our intention is to provide the Governor’s Office opportunities to present that information before House and Senate redistricting committees,” state Senate President Wilton Simpson and state House Speaker Chris Sprowls said in a joint statement.
DeSantis vetoed a map the Legislature sent him late last month after which lawmakers agreed to hold a special session from April 19-22 to draw a new map. The announcement Monday comes as the state is approaching the June 17 deadline for prospective candidates for federal office without a map. The state’s primary election is slated to take place in August.
When he issued the veto, DeSantis argued the map the Legislature sent him violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by preserving a racially gerrymandered district favorable to Democrats. Many outside observers noted DeSantis had been lobbying the Legislature for months to pass a map with more GOP-friendly lines. The Legislature’s map would have likely given Republicans an 18-10 advantage, up from the current 16-11 split, per Florida Politics.
DeSantis, a Republican star running for reelection this year with a large war chest, previously took the rare step of putting forth his own map proposals, one of which would have boosted the Republican advantage to 20-8, according to Dave Wasserman, a national elections analyst for the Cook Political Report. The state gained a seat after the 2020 census.
Democrats have signaled their intent to challenge a final map in court. “Discovery in the inevitable lawsuit will be very interesting,” teased lawyer Marc Elias.
Discovery in the inevitable lawsuit will be very interesting.? https://t.co/MTfub0WCSR
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) April 11, 2022
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Florida is one of three states, Missouri and New Hampshire being the other two, without a legally binding congressional map. Roughly a dozen states have pending litigation against their maps. Simpson and Sprowls expressed optimism that they could pass a proposal that could win DeSantis’s approval and withstand legal challenges.
“Under the process laid out in the state constitution, unlike state legislative maps, there is no mandatory review by the Florida Supreme Court for congressional maps. Like other general bills, the Governor has a role in establishing congressional districts of the state,” Simpson and Sprowls continued. “Therefore, our goal during the special session is to pass a new congressional map that will both earn the Governor’s signature and withstand legal scrutiny, if challenged.”
