A coalition of civil rights groups is taking Florida state officials to court over the newly passed congressional map.
The group filed a lawsuit Friday asking a state court in Leon County to block the map and order the drawing of a new one, arguing it violated the Fair Districts Amendment in the state Constitution and illegally gerrymanders in a way that diminishes the power of black voters.
“At the beginning of this redistricting cycle, the Legislature appeared to follow the Fair Districts Amendment in good faith…Governor Ron DeSantis, however, had other ideas. He unilaterally declared the Fair Districts Amendment unconstitutional,” the plaintiffs wrote in a 28-page complaint. “The DeSantis Plan does not comply with the Fair Districts Amendment. It does not even purport to.”
The map has yet to go into effect, but it cleared both chambers of the Florida Legislature and has been backed by DeSantis, who signed it into law Friday afternoon. Civil rights groups such as the League of Women Voters of Florida, Black Voters Matter, Florida Rising, and Equal Ground Florida, as well as several voters, joined the lawsuit. The Elias Law Group and National Redistricting Foundation are backing the complaint, which came roughly 24 hours after the measure cleared the state House in a special session.
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In the filing, lawyers draw attention to the map’s handling of the state’s 5th Congressional District, which is home to a plurality of black voters, who make up nearly half of the population. The map divides Jacksonville, a city in the district and home to the largest black population in the state, into two districts that lean Republican. The district is held by Democratic Rep. Al Lawson.
Last month, the Republican-controlled legislature sent a redistricting map to DeSantis that left the district largely unchanged, but the governor vetoed it for that reason. He claimed they left a racially gerrymandered district in tact in violation of the equal protection clause in the 14th Amendment.
“Both Governor DeSantis and the Legislature well knew that dismantling CD-5 would diminish the voting power of Black residents within the district and violate the plain command of the Florida Constitution. From the beginning, Governor DeSantis publicly stated that he would not accept any congressional plan that contained a configuration of CD-5 that protected Black voters from diminishment,” the lawsuit said. “Governor DeSantis was tireless in his efforts.”
The Fair Districts Amendment, cited in the filing, bars redistricting plans from being drawn “with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party” and from “denying or abridging the equal opportunity of racial or language minorities” to vote. The plaintiffs alleged the map violates both these provisions.
To many outside observers, DeSantis’s veto appeared motivated by a desire to implement an even more GOP-friendly map that the legislature sent him. Ultimately, the legislature caved and announced it would pursue a map that he would support, hoping it could also withstand legal muster. DeSantis and the legislature had been at odds for months over how aggressive they should be on redistricting.
The map is expected to boost Republicans’ 16-11 congressional advantage to 20–8. The state gained a seat during the most recent census. In other words, Republicans will likely control 71% of the congressional seats after the midterm elections in a state former President Donald Trump won by about 51%.
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During a special session in the state House on Thursday, Democrats staged a protest over the map, but Republicans managed to push the bill through despite their singing and chanting.
In addition to its changes to the 5th Congressional District, the map also weakens the 10th Congressional District for Democrats, which is held by Rep. Val Demings and has a sizable black population of roughly 28%, though not a plurality. Demings is challenging Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.
