A federal ruling will now give Jacksonville voters the opportunity to elect five black council members instead of just four.
U.S. District Judge Maria Morales Howard, appointed by former U.S. Pres. George Bush, ordered the implementation of the plaintiffs’ voting map instead of the map drawn up by the Jacksonville City Council in a lawsuit alleging racial gerrymandering.
“We alleged and proved that all the black voters were packed into four districts and these districts were very safe for black voters, but then there weren't enough black voters outside this district to a preferred candidate,” said Jack Genberg, senior staff attorney for voting rights with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). “With the agreed upon map, there's more opportunity for black voters.”
In the Jacksonville Branch of the NAACP v City of Jacksonville, the alleged racial gerrymandering of Duval County School Board Districts 4, 5, and 6 was also challenged because they are based on the city council districts.
Judge Howard enjoined the city’s proposed voting maps twice.
“Loathe to invade the province of the legislature, the court returned the matter to the City Council to draw a constitutionally appropriate map,” Howard wrote in her opinion. “But the City’s effort to do so was hamstrung by its failure to address Jacksonville’s thirty-year history of racial gerrymandering.”
The case was filed by the SPLC, American Civil Liberties Union of Florida (ACLU-FL), and the Harvard Election Law Center on behalf of local organizations including the Jacksonville NAACP Branch, the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, the Northeast Chapter of the ACLU of Florida, Florida Rising and ten individual residents.
“For other redistricting bodies, this case is a reminder of the necessity of knowing the law and following the law,” Genberg told the Florida Record. “The map makers at other city councils, county commissions, and the state legislature only need to use race as the predominant factor if it's necessary to comply with the law, such as the Voting Rights Act.”
In the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that the city council employed racial criteria to dilute the voting power of Black residents and ensure a high white population in three adjacent districts.
The city of Jacksonville agreed to pay $100,000 to cover the plaintiff's legal fees.
“We're just delighted that we're able to resolve this case in a way that does provide fair representation for the black community and we hope this will encourage voters in Jacksonville to turn out in elections and realize that their vote really does make a difference now,” Genberg added.