TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2013 Florida\u2019s newly drawn congressional districts will remain intact, a Tallahassee judge ruled Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Judge Joshua Hawkes of the Leon Circuit Court rejected the push from two voting rights organizations and a group of voters to strike down the map drawn up by an aide for Gov. Ron DeSantis and passed by the GOP-led Legislature.<\/p>\n
Common Cause and Equal Ground Education Fund argued the map was drawn to help Republicans gain seats in the U.S. House during the midterm elections, and pointed to the statements from DeSantis\u2019 aide, Jason Poreda, who drew the districts that he used partisan data during the process.<\/p>\n
[INTERACTIVE: Slide the middle bar to see how the district map would change if approved]<\/p>\n
Florida\u2019s constitution prohibits drawing districts with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent, thanks to a 2010 measure passed by voters known as the Fair Districts Amendment.<\/p>\n
But Hawkes ruled the voting groups didn\u2019t show the previous map, which was passed in 2022, would be constitutional if he struck the new map down.<\/p>\n
While the Legislature debated the new map the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in a Louisiana case undercutting part of the Voting Rights Act that allowed states to draw districts based on race to address historic discrimination, particularly against African-Americans.<\/p>\n
That ruling, lawyers for DeSantis and the Legislature argued, means the previous Congressional District 20 seat based in South Florida, which favors Black voters, is unconstitutional.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the extent the Court has to balance Florida\u2019s FDA prohibition of improper partisan intent and the United States Constitution\u2019s Equal Protection guarantees, it seems clear that the potential partisan intent in the 2026 map is the lesser of the two evils,\u201d Hawkes wrote.<\/p>\n
The groups vowed to appeal the ruling.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue our fight to protect the will of Floridians who overwhelmingly voted to ban partisan gerrymandering in this state,\u201d Common Cause Florida Executive Director Amy Keith said in a released statement. \u201cBecause Floridians of all political backgrounds are so clearly against partisan gerrymandering, we will exhaust all legal options to make sure a map this partisan does not last the rest of this decade.\u201d<\/p>\n
Any successful appeal would have to move swiftly to apply to the 2026 midterm elections. Qualifying for U.S. House seats starts June 8 at noon and ends June 12 at noon.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers passed the new map amid a partisan redistricting war that played out across the nation before Florida acted.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump urged GOP-led states last year to pass new maps to help Republicans keep the U.S. House. The chamber is narrowly controlled by Republicans, and would revert to Democratic control if they were to lose a handful of seats in the midterm elections.<\/p>\n
Texas was the first state to take up Trump\u2019s call, but Democratic states, including California, responded, passing new maps to favor their party.<\/p>\n
DeSantis\u2019 office also sent the new map to Fox News, which showed it possibly leading to Republicans gaining four seats in Florida, based on 2024 election results, before it was submitted to the Legislature.<\/p>\n
That partisan map and the national climate surrounding redistricting weren\u2019t addressed in Hawkes\u2019 ruling.<\/p>\n
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