A state judge ruled that Florida’s congressional redistricting plan proposed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is unconstitutional and cannot be used for any future elections because it makes it harder for Black voters in North Florida to select the representative they prefer.
According to Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh, the plan was returned to the Florida Legislature, directing the state’s lawmakers to create a new congressional district that conforms to the state constitution.
A couple of months after this ruling, the voting rights organizations that filed a legal challenge to the plan “have demonstrated that the implemented plan diminishes Black voters’ ability to elect their preferred candidate in violation of the Florida Constitution,” according to Marsh’s statement.
The ruling was the most recent to invalidate newly drawn congressional district lines in Southern states due to worries that they would reduce Black voters’ power.
The Republican-drawn Alabama map was invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court in June after two conservative justices joined liberals in opposing the attempt to undermine a historic voting rights statute. Shortly afterward, a Louisiana political case was lifted from the Supreme Court’s hold, raising the possibility that the Republican-dominated state will need to redraw its borders in order to establish a second congressional district that is primarily Black.
In evaluating a lawsuit filed by organizations such as the League of Women Voters of Florida and Black Voters Matter, the judge declared that state legislators needed to create a “remedial map” in order to adhere to the state constitution. He also maintained jurisdiction over the case in order to determine whether the new boundaries were valid.
Prior to the previous year, District 5 connected primarily Democratic Black areas in an area where Republicans had significant support from white voters, extending from Jacksonville to Gadsden County, west of Tallahassee.
According to DeSantis, the district was racially gerrymandered in contravention of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
However, that district was deleted under a redistricting plan supported by Governor DeSantis and eventually approved by state legislators. The new borders allowed Republicans to win 20 of the 28 districts in the state, increasing their representation by four seats.
The goal of the request is to have a Supreme Court ruling before the 2024 legislative session convenes on Jan. 9.
After a trial that lasted several weeks, a three-judge panel in the related federal lawsuit is currently deliberating and is anticipated to render a decision before the end of the year. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear DeSantis’ appeal if he challenges the federal ruling.