The Florida legislature on Thursday approved a Congressional map that could give Republicans four more seats in the House and dismantle two predominantly black districts around Jacksonville and Orlando.
The passage of the map also represents a political victory for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who got involved in the district redistribution process by introducing several maps that were more aggressive gerrymanders. and vetoed what the legislature was initially proposing. Following his veto, DeSantis reconvened members for a special session this week on district redistribution.
The map would create 20 Republican-leaning seats and eight Democratic-leaning seats. In their current configuration, Republicans have 16 seats and Democrats have 11 seats.
The shape of Florida’s 5th District, which is represented by Democratic Rep. Al Lawson and has had a black representative since 1993, is unrecognizable on the new map. The district originally stretched from Jacksonville to Tallahassee, to connect most black communities.
The map now divides Jacksonville into two districts, the fourth and fifth districts. It also eliminates black voters by changing Florida’s 10th district in Orlando, left open by Democratic Congresswoman Val Demings, and brings together two Democratic-leaning districts in Tampa and St. Petersburg into one district.
Florida won a seat in Congress after the publication of the 2020 census data.
The Florida House voted the map 68-38, according to party lines, Thursday after a debate in which many Democratic representatives complained about what they believe is a discriminatory map. The Senate approved the map earlier this week.
At one point in the house, several black representatives provoked an informal retreat by moving in front of the chamber to protest the map.
Republicans called for a vote and established a quorum despite constant protests at the back of the House. Travaris McCurdy and Angie Nixon, two black Democrat leaders, led a sit-in protest, wearing T-shirts that said “Stop the Black Attack,” according to the Orlando Sentinel.
“Dr. [Martin Luther] King said a man can’t mount your back unless you’re bent over. So today I’m standing, I’m standing today, and I’m not going to bow to the ego, to the ambitions of an individual who wants to give us back, “said Democratic Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson during the debate.
DeSantis and Republicans have defended the map’s decision to divide the black population in Florida’s 5th district, saying its current configuration, which stretches more than 200 miles north of Florida, is not compact enough. This version of the district was approved by the Florida Supreme Court in 2015.
They also said in a note attached to their veto that the district violates the U.S. Constitution because it assigns voters “primarily on the basis of race.”
“Race and political party data are in no way related to my drawing of any of the map districts,” Alex Kelly, DeSantis’ deputy chief of staff, said Tuesday during a presentation of his map to a committee of the Florida Senate. .
“It will prevent African-American voters living above the I-4 corridor from being able to have representation in Congress that they are African-American,” said Daniel Henry, Democratic Party chairman in Duval County. “25% of African Americans living in this state live above the I-4 corridor, and with these maps that the legislature is about to approve, they will almost certainly ensure that African Americans no longer have a voice in terms of federal representation. … “
There have been legal efforts in state and federal courts to prevent the map from being promulgated for this election cycle, but most operatives observing the redistribution of districts in the state expect them to be resolved after this election. November.
Michael McDonald, a district redistribution expert and professor of political science at the University of Florida, said there is a “harder way” for a legal challenge on the 5th district in federal court because it does not reach the mark of the 50% of the black population to ensure protected status. according to section two of the Voting Rights Act.
“While it’s possible to draw a district of 50% of the black-voting population for the fifth district of Congress, it’s not a district you’d like to take home to mom,” he said. “I don’t think his form would fly with the Supreme Court or the federal courts.”
McDonald, who was presented as a potential “special master” to help redesign the lines for a lawsuit against DeSantis’ efforts, said any legal challenge could bring more luck to the state court. Florida passed its “Red District” district redistribution amendments last decade that would serve as controls on partisan and racial gerrymandering.
The increase in Florida Republican seats also gives the party a slight national advantage when it comes to redistributing this cycle. Democratic legislatures and states with independent commissions have helped level the playing field with Republicans, despite controlling the process of redistributing districts into more states that begin the cycle.
The Florida legislature also passed a bill that would end Disney’s special self-government district status in the state, for his opposition to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
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- United States Congress
- Ron DeSantis
- Florida
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