The League of Women Voters of Florida and other voting rights groups are suing to have the new congressional redistricting map signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis last week declared a violation of the state constitution.
The league, Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute and other groups filed the lawsuit April 22 in the Leon County Circuit Court. The new congressional map, which the governor drew up and the legislature passed, eliminates the majority-minority District 5 in northern Florida, and according to the lawsuit, leads to diminished representation for Black voters in violation of the “Fair Districts” amendment to the state constitution passed by voters in 2010..
“Both Gov. DeSantis and the Legislature well know that dismantling CD-5 would diminish the voting power of Black residents within the district and violate the plain command of the Florida Constitution,” the complaint states.
DeSantis has argued that other proposed congressional maps amounted to racial gerrymanders that violate the federal Constitution.
The Florida league’s president, Cecile Scoon, said she was confident that there was enough time for the courts to come up with a new map before state and local elections officials have to prepare for this year’s primary elections.
“People have been looking at the maps extensively,” Scoon told the Florida Record. “There have been a lot of experts looking at things. I think there are groups that can draw a map up very quickly.”
The Fair Districts amendment contains requirements that minorities’ ability to elect their own candidates cannot be diminished, she said. Scoon added that over the past decade, Florida has seen the Hispanic population grow by 1.5 million, along with an increase of a half-million African-Americans.
“Fair Districts does not only say you cannot diminish (minority access),” Scoon said. “It also says that you must also give every opportunity to have a racial or language minority select a representative of their choice.”
Florida has had four majority-minority congressional districts in recent years, but under the DeSantis plan, those districts would go down to two, she said. The plan also favors the Republican Party by eliminating three Democratic seats and splits geographical and political boundaries, all in violation of the provisions of the state constitution, according to the lawsuit.