TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCJB/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – A newly passed congressional map is on its way to Gov. Ron DeSantis after state lawmakers approved it during a rapid special session vote.
The vote happened the same day the U.S. Supreme Court issued a major redistricting decision in Louisiana.
The legislature approved the new map within 72 hours of seeing it, as redistricting laws are changing across the country.
Democrats protest rapid approval
State lawmakers quickly passed new congressional boundaries in this week’s special session despite protests from Democrats on the floor.
“We are really upset by this. We went through redistricting recently. We’ve been told to follow the law. We fought against those bad maps then,” said Rep. Fentrice Driskell, the Democratic minority leader.
Supreme Court ruling weakens Voting Rights Act
While Florida lawmakers debated, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the Louisiana case dealing with the Voting Rights Act, the case DeSantis cited as the reason for calling this special session.
The court’s Wednesday decision weakens protections against discrimination in redistricting, saying states can’t rely too heavily on race when drawing districts.
“In the state of Florida, we have an evolving legal landscape. We have evidence that the Florida Supreme Court will recede from precedent,” said Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, R-Fort Myers.
DeSantis’ office told lawmakers race wasn’t used to draw Florida’s new map. Political data was used despite Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment banning political gerrymandering.
“This map is based on a viable interpretation of both the Florida and United States constitutions,” Persons-Mulicka said.
“I believe we’ve applied the data to the law,” said Rep. Tom Fabricio, R-Miami Lakes.
Voters, local officials oppose mid-decade redistricting
Amy Keith of Common Ground said the Supreme Court decision doesn’t change Florida’s constitutional protections.
“A Supreme Court decision today doesn’t change that at all. States have the purview to make partisan gerrymandering illegal in their states. That’s what we did, that’s what the people of Florida did. And again we know from poll after poll, the people of Florida, that’s still what they want,” Keith said.
Last month, an Emerson Poll found 56% of Florida voters think mid-decade redistricting is a bad idea.
Republican Manatee County Commissioner George W. Kruse also posted a letter urging lawmakers to vote no.
“This map is not in the best interest of our residents, whom you represent,” Kruse wrote. He later posted, “Stand up for the People; not the Party.”
Several lawsuits are ready to be filed on the federal and state levels.
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