TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Legislature approved a new congressional map intended to maximize Republicans' advantage in the state as part of the national redistricting battle that President Donald Trump launched ahead of this year's midterms.
The vote came just two days after Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled his proposal and the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. The decision could make it
harder for Democrats to challenge Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts in ways that limit the influence of nonwhite voters.
DeSantis' map could increase Republicans' advantage in Florida's House delegation to 24 to 4, up from the current split of 20 to 8. The potential four-seat gain is the same as what Virginia Democrats expect from a recent redistricting referendum, which is being challenged in state court there.
Florida’s new map is certain to face lawsuits as well, especially because the state constitution prohibits redistricting for explicitly partisan purposes. DeSantis and his aides believe those provisions will not be a legal barrier because they have been weakened previously by the Florida Supreme Court and again by Wednesday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Florida Republicans, comfortable in their supermajority in both legislative chambers, said little about the new districts during the whirlwind special session. The measure's sponsor, Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, R-Fort Myers, limited her remarks to careful answers about an “evolving legal landscape” as Democrats’ asked her about the redistricting effort.
“I believe that there is a likelihood that that map will be upheld against legal challenge,” Persons-Mulicka said.
Democrats decried it as a partisan power play to satisfy Trump and hurt the majority of registered Florida voters who are not Republicans.
“Y’all are doing this because y’all’s daddy in the White House is injecting national political objectives into what should be a state-driven process,” Rep. Michele Rayner, D-St. Petersburg, told her Republican colleagues.
