The Florida Supreme Court has given the green light for newly crafted U.S. House districts, designed by Republicans, to be implemented for the upcoming midterm elections. This decision marks yet another triumph for the GOP in their strategic redistricting efforts across the nation, which aim to help the party maintain its narrow majority in the House of Representatives.
On Wednesday, the court declined a petition to impose a temporary injunction on these new districts. Lawyers representing the voters who initiated the lawsuit contended that these districts breach a state constitutional clause that bans partisan gerrymandering. They argued that the court should mandate the use of the same districts as those used in the last election cycle.
Currently, Republicans control 20 out of Florida’s 28 U.S. House seats. The newly delineated voting districts, signed into law by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis following a rapid two-day special legislative session, could potentially boost the GOP’s prospects of capturing four more seats this year.
Critics have pointed to a 2010 amendment, approved by voters, that prohibits congressional districts from being designed to favor or disadvantage a particular political party or incumbent officials.
Florida is among several states with Republican leadership that have embarked on a mid-decade redistricting process. This move is part of former President Donald Trump’s broader strategy to secure a slender House majority in the upcoming November elections by altering district boundaries to the GOP’s benefit.
Florida’s legislature approved the new House map on April 29 — the same day the U.S. Supreme Court weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections for minorities while striking down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana. Since then, several Southern states have taken steps to try to eliminate minority districts that have elected Democrats.
DeSantis had called lawmakers into a special session before the high court’s ruling, but he had anticipated the eventual outcome. DeSantis’ office asserted that no racial data was used for the map he presented to the Legislature. The new map, among other things, redraws a southeastern Florida district that DeSantis’ office said was created to help elect a Black representative in an attempt to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act.
In addition to barring partisan gerrymandering, Florida’s constitution also prohibits districts from being drawn to deny or diminish the ability of racial or language minorities to elect the representatives of their choice. It further requires districts to be compact and, where feasible, use existing political and geographic boundaries.
In a memo to lawmakers, DeSantis’ General Counsel David Axelman asserted that the racial redistricting provision of Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment violates the U.S. Constitution. If one element is invalid, Axelman wrote, then the entire 2010 amendment is void, including provisions barring partisan gerrymandering.
Attorneys representing state officials made similar arguments to the Florida Supreme Court, after a lower court judge last month declined to issue a preliminary injunction against the new map. They also argued it was too late in the election season to revert to the previous maps.
In a filing with the Florida Supreme Court, attorneys representing state officials said the new map was “cause for celebration” during America’s 250th anniversary. “Perhaps for the first time in Florida’s history, the State has a truly colorblind map; a map that refuses to assault the dignity of men and women by color-coding them,” their court filing said.
Attorneys who sued on behalf of voters argued the new districts were crafted with political favoritism. They argued in documents filed with the state Supreme Court that the new congressional districts are “among the most extreme partisan gerrymanders enacted in any state over the past half-century.”
Under the new House map, 82% of voters in districts represented by Republicans remain in the same districts as under the previous map, said attorney Chris Shenton, who represented Common Cause and other groups challenging the map. Just 41% of voters in districts represented by Democrats are kept in their same districts, he said.
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