Federal court rejects congressional redistricting challenge as state lawsuit awaits Florida Supreme Court
A federal court rejected claims the Florida Legislature intentionally discriminated against Black voters when it approved Gov. Ron DeSantis’ congressional map.
The three-judge panel unanimously agreed that while the plaintiffs had presented evidence about DeSantis’ alleged discrimination, they failed to show the Legislature was discriminating when it went along with the governor.
The lawsuit specifically focused on DeSantis’ obsession with eliminating a North Florida congressional district that had allowed Black voters to elect their preferred candidate for 30 years. In its most recent form, that district stretched from Jacksonville to Tallahassee and had elected U.S. Rep. Al Lawson (D-Tallahassee) from 2016 until 2022.
The lawsuit was brought by a group of five voters and three organizations, including Common Cause Florida, FairDistricts Now and the Florida State Conference of the NAACP.
https://jaxtrib.org/2024/03/27/federal-court-rejects-congressional-redistricting-challenge-as-state-lawsuit-awaits-florida-supreme-court/