{"id":257955,"date":"2026-05-04T17:20:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T17:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/257955\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T17:20:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T17:20:07","slug":"could-supreme-court-decision-on-redistricting-affect-jacksonvilles-city-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/257955\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Supreme Court decision on redistricting affect Jacksonville\u2019s city elections?"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 New sessions are scheduled to begin this week in two Republican-controlled states after the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on a key provision<\/a> of the Voting Rights Act.<\/p>\n

The Court\u2019s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais weakened a requirement that states draw congressional districts in a way that gives minorities an opportunity to control their own fate.<\/p>\n

The requirement in the Voting Rights Act was that in areas where white people and outnumbered racial minorities vote differently, districts be drawn to give those minorities a chance to elect representatives they prefer. <\/p>\n

The Supreme Court\u2019s ruling weakening that provision when it comes to Congressional districts opened a new set of political floodgates.<\/a><\/p>\n

And City Council member Rory Diamond, a Republican, is eager to see Jacksonville wade into those redistricting waters.<\/p>\n

In a social media post, Diamond argued that in light of the Supreme Court\u2019s decision, \u201cthe Jax City Council map must be redrawn.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the recent Supreme Court decision Louisiana v. Callais, the Jax City Council map must be redrawn. <\/p>\n

Judge Howard relied heavily on race in drawing the map, and it is therefore unconstitutional. <\/p>\n

We have a duty to draft a race-neutral map. <\/p>\n

There is more than enough time.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Rory Diamond (@RoryDiamond) May 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Diamond argued that the judge who redrew the district map \u201crelied heavily on race\u201d and the map is \u201ctherefore unconstitutional.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview with News4JAX, however, Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland<\/a>, also a Republican, said that the current map approved by the court was already deemed not to be race-based.<\/p>\n

Diamond said he might introduce legislation to redraw the districts ahead of the next city election, and it\u2019s possible lawsuits could be filed over the current map. He suspects lawsuits are a distinct possibility and possibly being drawn up now.<\/p>\n

Nationwide redistricting war<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump ignited the conflict over redistricting last year by urging Republicans to redraw congressional maps to reduce the likelihood that his party loses the U.S. House in the November midterm elections. <\/p>\n

It was an unusual step, since redistricting normally only takes place after the once-a-decade census to accommodate population shifts. But in 2019 the Supreme Court ruled federal courts cannot prevent partisan gerrymandering, and Trump saw a chance to push the limits.<\/p>\n

Once Republican-led states like Texas started shifting district lines, Democratic-led states like California countered. The fight<\/a> was heading for a draw until the Supreme Court\u2019s conservative majority issued its long-awaited decision in Louisiana v. Callais.<\/p>\n

Republicans in Tennessee plan to erase the only Democratic congressional district, which is majority Black and centered in Memphis, by splitting it up among more conservative suburban and rural white communities. More than a dozen other majority-minority districts, mainly in the South, could face the same fate. <\/p>\n

Louisiana moved to postpone its congressional primaries<\/a>, set for May 16, to have a chance to redraw two majority-Black Democratic seats it was required to maintain before the recent ruling. Alabama is trying to get the Supreme Court to let it redraw its two majority-Black seats.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should demand that State Legislatures do what the Supreme Court says must be done,\u201d Trump wrote on social media on Sunday. \u201cThat is more important than administrative convenience.\u201d <\/p>\n

He said Republicans could gain 20 seats through redistricting. <\/p>\n

Democrats have threatened to retaliate by splitting up conservative bastions in states like New York and Illinois, which would reallocate Republican voters to more liberal, urban districts.<\/p>\n

With fewer limits \u2014 either legal or self-imposed \u2014 people expect the issue to become a perpetual race to squeeze every possible advantage out of legislative maps. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to know where it ends,\u201d said Rick Hasen, a law professor at UCLA.<\/p>\n

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