High Court Hands Republicans INCREDIBLE Victory
(AmericanProsperity.com) – Florida, the nation’s third-most populous state, recently added a congressional seat in the US House to match its growth in population. A new seat means there needed to be a new congressional district map. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has approved of a new map, which will remain in place at least for the 2022 election despite legal challengers.
New Map
Florida’s population grew enough in 2022 that the state needed to shift from 27 to 28 congressional seats. Lawmakers had been creating a new map to make room for the new US Representative.
The process had gone well until Governor DeSantis submitted a map his office drafted. The Republican argued that he didn’t agree with any map that would preserve Representative Al Lawson’s seat. As a result, DeSantis vetoed the original map legislators drafted before accepting his office’s district map.
Sparking Controversy
The governor’s decision to pass the new map quickly drew the attention of voting and civil rights groups. Advocates took the issue to court in a lawsuit. The new Florida congressional district map would give Republicans a serious advantage, likely handing them 20 wins out of the state’s 28 seats.
The move would seriously impact Democrats’ chances of keeping a majority in the House. Civil and voting rights groups claim the new district map violates the Fair District provisions in Florida and state constitutional amendments regarding anti-gerrymandering.
Court Ruling
The issue made it to the Florida State Supreme Court, where two justices recused from the ruling, while the others ruled 4-1 to not get involved with the legal dispute surrounding the redistricting map. The Florida Supreme Court’s decision means the decision will be left to an appeals court.
J. Layne Smith, a Circuit Judge, originally attempted to preserve Lawson’s seat, but the 1st District Court overturned the decision in May. Smith asserted the DeSantis map was likely unconstitutional, again citing Florida’s Fair District provisions claiming it would dilute the strength of black voters by splitting them up.
The high court’s decision to not rule on the matter comes only two weeks before candidates are required to qualify for the upcoming election. In other words, by the time the appeals court hears the case, it will be too late, meaning the DeSantis district map will be used in the 2022 election, giving Republicans a better chance to take the majority in the House. Will there soon be a Republican majority in Congress?
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