Liberal voters are suing Florida, alleging that a new congressional map signed Monday by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) violates a state constitutional provision against political gerrymandering. <\/p>\n
The new map gives Republicans an advantage in 24 of the state\u2019s 28 congressional seats\u2014four more seats than Republicans currently hold. The complaint<\/a> argues that the lines\u2014drawn explicitly to aid conservative candidates\u2014violates Sec. 20<\/a> of the constitution, which says \u201cno apportionment plan or individual district shall be drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cFlorida has become the latest battleground in an unprecedented nationwide effort to redraw congressional maps for partisan gain outside the traditional decennial redistricting cycle,\u201d says the complaint, filed in Leon County. But unlike other states like Texas and California, \u201cFlorida\u2019s constitution continues to expressly prohibit partisan gerrymandering\u2014a constraint the Legislature chose to ignore.\u201d<\/p>\n Attorney General James Uthmeier (R), who will be defending the map, didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n Racial Gerrymandering<\/p>\n DeSantis signed<\/a> the map legislation Monday, less than a week after the US Supreme Court struck<\/a> a blow to plaintiffs suing over racial gerrymandering under the federal Voting Rights Act.<\/p>\n In a press conference last week DeSantis claimed that the federal ruling \u201cnot only vindicated what we were doing, it compelled what we were doing,\u201d referencing the US Supreme Court majority opinion that greatly limited the instances in which race could be considered when drawing political districts. <\/p>\n With its large Hispanic and Black populations, Florida has long been a hotbed for racial gerrymandering litigation. Until 2013, five counties<\/a> were required to clear proposed election law changes with the US Justice Department out of concern that minorities would be discriminated against at the polls.<\/p>\n