{"id":68909,"date":"2025-12-03T01:37:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T01:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/68909\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T01:37:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T01:37:11","slug":"pressure-builds-in-tallahassee-as-gop-splits-over-redistricting-timeline-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/68909\/","title":{"rendered":"Pressure builds in Tallahassee as GOP splits over redistricting timeline"},"content":{"rendered":"

Voting-rights groups flooded the Florida Capitol on Tuesday<\/a>, warning state leaders against what they call an unprecedented, unnecessary, and possibly illegal attempt to redraw the state\u2019s congressional map just three years after the last one.<\/p>\n

Dozens of civil-rights and community organizations gathered for a \u201cWe Draw the Lines\u201d Day of Action. They\u2019re accusing Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers of bowing to partisan pressure and undermining Florida\u2019s Fair Districts rules, which ban partisan gerrymandering.<\/p>\n

WATCH FORREST SAUNDERS’ COVERAGE BELOW:<\/p>\n

\u201cVoters should choose our elected officials, not the other way around,\u201d said Abdelilah Skhir of the ACLU of Florida.<\/p>\n

Speakers sharply criticized any move to open the maps early, especially as the House and Governor remain divided over when, or whether, to take up redistricting at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is not democracy \u2014 that is a power grab,\u201d said Genesis Robinson of Equal Ground, adding that while no lawsuit has been filed, \u201cwe expect there to be consequences\u201d if lawmakers attempt an \u201cunprecedented\u201d mid-decade redraw.<\/p>\n

Democrats warned<\/a> earlier this week the effort threatens fundamental democratic safeguards.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s cynical, it’s inappropriate, frankly, it\u2019s illegal,\u201d Driskell said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m just so sorry to see that our state is moving forward in this direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing tension among GOP leaders<\/p>\n

The rally comes days before the Florida House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting holds its first public meeting<\/a>. House Speaker Danny Perez created the committee in August, arguing lawmakers need clarity after a recent Florida Supreme Court ruling raised new legal questions about the Fair Districts amendments.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere in Florida, our state supreme court’s recent decision in Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, Inc. v. Secretary, Florida Department of State, raises important and distinct questions about the applicability and interpretation of certain provisions of the so- called “Fair Districts” provisions of the Florida Constitution and their intersection with Federal law,\u201d Perez wrote in a memo<\/a> to lawmakers. \u201cExploring these questions now, at the mid-decade point, would potentially allow us to seek legal guidance from our supreme court without the uncertainty associated with deferring those questions until after the next decennial census and reapportionment.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Gov. Ron DeSantis has said the state should wait until the U.S. Supreme Court rules this term on the future of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a decision expected in the coming months. He told the Floridian Press<\/a> he was targeting a special session in spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we\u2019re going to redistrict,\u201d DeSantis told the Floridian Press. \u201cThe issue is that there is a Supreme Court decision that we are waiting on, the argument in October about Section 2 of the VRA impacts Florida\u2019s maps, so we\u2019re going to do it next Spring. I am going to talk to Sen. Albritton about when it makes sense to do, but that will be done. I think we are going to be required to do it because of this court decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some House Republicans, however, say waiting until spring would be inefficient,\u201d noting lawmakers are already in Tallahassee and able to act sooner. One described the Governor\u2019s preferred timeline as political posturing.<\/p>\n

Senate mostly silent \u2014 for now
The Florida Senate, meanwhile, is keeping its distance. Staff confirmed Senate President Ben Albritton met with the Governor after Thanksgiving but said only that DeSantis reiterated his position that any special session should come next spring \u2014 and after the regular session concludes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe President stopped by the Governor\u2019s Office briefly late this afternoon to say hello following Thanksgiving,\u201d staff said in a statement. \u201cThe Governor reiterated to the President what he has stated publicly \u2013 that the timeline for addressing redistricting should be next Spring. We have always assumed that \u201cSpring\u201d means after the regular session.\u201d<\/p>\n

What happens next
Thursday\u2019s House committee meeting will provide the first public indication of how fast, or how divided, the Legislature may be as the redistricting fight escalates.<\/p>\n

\u201cRedistricting is not just about lines on a map,\u201d said Rosemary McCoy, a voter at the Tuesday rally. \u201cIt\u2019s about your voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Republicans split on timing, Democrats warning of democratic backsliding, and advocates preparing for possible legal action, Florida\u2019s next political battle is only just beginning.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Voting-rights groups flooded the Florida Capitol on Tuesday, warning state leaders against what they call an unprecedented, unnecessary,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[232,234,233],"class_list":["post-68909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee-headlines","tag-tallahassee-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}