florida redistricting

Jessica Lowe-Minor, the president of the League of Women Voters of Florida is warning state legislators not to embark on a mid-decade congressional redistricting plan, saying it's unprecedented and goes against the 2010 “Fair Districts” constitutional amendment.

The Miami Republican’s announcement came as Texas Republicans have moved forward with a controversial mid-decade redistricting plan and as the White House has pressured other GOP-controlled states, including Florida, Missouri and South Carolina, to follow suit.

The Florida governor raised the possibility of further redistricting Thursday as Texas Republicans look to redraw districts amid a push by the Trump administration to help the GOP keep its slim control of the U.S. House.

The case centered on Congressional District 5, which in the past stretched from Jacksonville to west of Tallahassee, and elected Black Democrat Al Lawson. During the 2022 redistricting process, DeSantis argued that keeping such a district would be an unconstitutional racial gerrymander and successfully pressured lawmakers to overhaul the district.

An appeals court upheld the map, which plaintiffs say violated part of the constitutional amendment that barred drawing districts that would “diminish” the ability of minorities to “elect representatives of their choice.”

The case, which is expected to go to the Florida Supreme Court, centers on an overhaul of North Florida’s Congressional District 5, which in the past elected Black Democrat Al Lawson. Voting-rights groups and other plaintiffs argue that the overhaul violated part of the constitutional amendment, known as the Fair Districts Amendment, that barred drawing districts that would “diminish” the ability of minorities to “elect representatives of their choice.”

Voting-rights groups have asked an appeals court to uphold a ruling that a congressional redistricting plan backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis violated the Florida Constitution.

Seeking a final ruling before the legislative session starts in January, both sides in a battle over a congressional redistricting plan asked an appeals court Friday to fast-track the case to the Florida Supreme Court.

The decision was the latest to strike down new congressional maps in Southern states over concerns that they diluted the voting power of Black residents.

Black voters in Florida could regain a congressional district where they make up a sizable share of the population, if voting rights groups prevail in an ongoing legal battle.

Key lawmakers and legislative staff members have gone to an appeals court as they fight giving depositions in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a congressional redistricting plan.

The redistricting plan, which Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed through the Florida Legislature during a special session last April, was used in the elections amid constitutional challenges in federal and state courts.