FL Court to Consider New House Map     05/15 06:28

   

   (AP) -- New U.S. House districts that could help Republicans win several 
additional seats in Florida are set to face their first test in court Friday 
against assertions that they violate a state constitutional ban on partisan 
gerrymandering.

   Lawsuits filed on behalf of voters ask a state judge to block the districts 
from being used in the midterm elections. The move would create a significant 
wrinkle in President Donald Trump's attempt to hold on to a narrow House 
majority by redrawing voting districts to the GOP's advantage.

   Republicans already hold 20 of Florida's 28 U.S. House seats. New voting 
districts signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis after a swift two-day 
special legislative session could improve the GOP's chances to win four 
additional seats in the November elections.

   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.

   Congressional districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after each 
census, to rebalance populations. But since Trump urged mid-decade 
redistricting last year, Republicans think they could gain as many as 15 seats 
from new House maps in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, 
Tennessee and Alabama. Democrats, meanwhile, think they could gain six seats 
from new maps in California and Utah.

   Democrats had counted on winning up to four additional seats in Virginia. 
But the Virginia Supreme Court last week struck down a Democratic redistricting 
plan approved by voters, ruling the legislature violated procedural 
requirements when placing it on the ballot.

   Florida bans partisan map-making

   The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that it has no authority to decide 
whether partisan gerrymandering goes too far. But it said partisan 
gerrymandering claims could continue to be decided in state courts under their 
own constitutions and laws.

   Florida voters approved a state constitutional amendment in 2010 that 
prohibits U.S. House districts from being drawn with the intent to favor or 
disfavor a political party or incumbent. The amendment bars districts from 
diminishing the ability of racial or language minorities to elect the 
representatives of their choice. It also requires districts to be compact and, 
where feasible, use existing political and geographic boundaries.

   Lawsuits filed on behalf of voters seek a temporary injunction against the 
new U.S. House map for violating that amendment. The suits focus heavily on 
political favoritism.

   "The plan takes the state's partisan skew to an unprecedented extreme," said 
one of three lawsuits filed in Leon County.

   A legal brief filed on behalf of the Florida Senate argues that partisan 
intent has not been proven and a temporary injunction against the new districts 
is not appropriate in advance of a fully developed trial.

   Though DeSantis called lawmakers into session before the Supreme Court's 
ruling in the Louisiana case, he anticipated an eventual outcome weakening 
Voting Rights Act protections for minority districts. Among other changes, 
Florida's new map reshapes 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.

   DeSantis' office said no racial data was used to prepare the new map he 
presented to the Legislature. In a memo to lawmakers, DeSantis' General Counsel 
David Axelman asserted that Florida's constitutional provision about racial 
redistricting violates the U.S. Constitution. If one element is invalid, 
Axelman wrote, then the entire 2010 amendment is void, including provisions 
barring partisan gerrymandering.