![]() ![]() This is exactly what Fair Districts was designed about.” History of discrimination “I feel like the logic is pretty solid,” Isbell said. Isbell, though, said the likelihood that the map gets overturned “is very high.” “… Although the decision for Alabama is a positive for the plaintiffs in the case, I still think they have a very steep hill to climb in order to have the Florida Supreme Court overturn Florida’s congressional districts.” “We have a Florida Supreme Court that’s been stacked by DeSantis appointees,” McDonald said. DeSantis has nominated five of the seven justices, making it 6-1 conservative. The state Supreme Court, which ultimately made that ruling, is vastly different from 2015’s which had a liberal majority. So we already have a super powerful ruling in our favor.” That decision, Scoon said, found that Fair Districts “was enforceable, clear, and an example to every other state in the union. They drew the districts that were in place until the latest maps were enacted last year following the 2020 Census. When the Legislature at the time couldn’t agree on new maps, the court turned to the league and the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The court found that GOP consultants submitted maps with the intent to produce more Republican seats in Congress. Scoon said the league’s suit also is bolstered by their previous victory in the state Supreme Court in 2015. … The DeSantis Plan does not comply with the Fair Districts Amendment. “He vetoed the Legislature’s congressional plan and convened a special legislative session, leaving the Legislature little choice but to consider and pass his own redistricting scheme. “He unilaterally declared the Fair Districts Amendment unconstitutional,” the suit states. “Governor Ron DeSantis, however, had other ideas.” ![]() The suit states that “the Legislature appeared to follow the Fair Districts Amendment in good faith” at the beginning of the redistricting cycle. ![]() Scoon, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, said the Alabama ruling was based on the same section of the Voting Rights Act that inspired the Fair Districts amendment “And the Supreme Court in the Alabama case basically said, ‘No, actually you can draw districts for race-based reasons.’ So that piece of the defense is weakened for DeSantis and the Florida State Government.”ĭeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern did not respond to a request for comment on the ruling. “One of DeSantis’ defenses … is basically that race-based drawing of districts is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause,” said Michael McDonald, a professor of political science at the University of Florida. Neither lawsuit directly compares to the Alabama case, which was decided on an interpretation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.īut plaintiffs and elections experts say the precedent established by the decision will play a role in whether one or both of the suits succeed. Their suit is based on the Fair Districts amendments to the Florida Constitution, which bans partisan and racial gerrymandering. The League of Women Voters Florida and other groups, meanwhile, are suing Florida in state court over the maps, just like they did a decade ago. The maps, which eliminated a Black access district in North Florida and watered down Black voting power in Central Florida, ultimately led to Republicans winning four more seats in Congress and helped the GOP win back the House in Washington.Ĭommon Cause and other groups are suing Florida in federal court on racial discrimination grounds, citing the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution ratified in the wake of the Civil War. Ron DeSantis and approved by the GOP-controlled Legislature. Two sets of plaintiffs are attempting to make the same thing happen here in Florida, where the state’s 2022 congressional maps were imposed by Gov. On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana must redraw its congressional map to add a second majority-Black district, the second major decision on minority districts this month. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |