Tallahassee, FL - On Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a congressional redistricting plan he submitted; a plan that immediately drew a legal challenge once his pen hit the paper.
According to court documents obtained by News Daytona Beach, a collection of voting groups—like Black Voters Matter and the League of Women Voters of Florida—and 12 other individuals filed a case on Friday (April 29) in Leon County alleging that DeSantis’ plan does not comply with state redistricting laws.
“The League and the other plaintiffs have chosen to not stand by while a rogue governor and a complicit state Legislature make a mockery of Florida’s Constitution and try to silence the votes and voices of hundreds of thousands of Black voters,” said Cecile Scoon, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida in a statement on Friday. “We will not be swayed by the Governor’s proclamations that the present law should be changed. We are all required to follow the law as it stands.”
Named as defendants in this case are the Florida House and Senate, and a number of lawmakers and state officials, including: Secretary of State Laurel Lee; Attorney General Ashley Moody; Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-Trilby); House Speaker Chris Sprowls (R-Palm Harbor); Sen. Ray Rodrigues (R-Estero), chair of the Senate Committee on Reapportionment; and Rep. Tom Leek (R-Ormond Beach), chair of the House Redistricting Subcommittee.
In the 38-page complaint filed in Leon County, the plaintiffs say DeSantis’ plan goes against the Fair Districts Amendment, which was approved by Florida voters in 2010. The amendment to the state constitution aimed to make redistricting impartial by banning gerrymandering and diminishing the voting power of a minority voter.
DeSantis’ plan aims to dismantle Florida’s 5th congressional district—which connects Jacksonville and Tallahassee at the northern end of the state. The district is largely Democrat and is served by Rep. Al Lawson, also a Democrat, who has led the district since it was drawn up. Lawson has been outspoken against DeSantis’ plan, and recently likened the governor to a dictator after the plan was passed by the legislature.
“DeSantis bullied the Florida Legislature into approving his Republican-leaning congressional map during special session. It is alarming that state legislators cannot fulfill their constitutional duties without political meddling,” said Lawson in a prepared statement. “Minority voters in Florida deserve congressional representation. It is astounding that someone tasked to lead the state is playing partisan politics for his own political aspirations.”
During the redistricting process, DeSantis vowed to veto whatever congressional redistricting plan the legislature came up with, favoring his own. That led to another lawsuit being filed in Leon County that asked a federal court to set a redistricting map.
Analysis from FiveThirtyEight.com—which publishes polling and voting trends online—called DeSantis’ plan extremely biased and says it will “shake up” Florida’s congressional delegation. The plan would “virtually guarantee” that Democrats stand to lose three House seats. Some Florida districts that also leaned more towards Democrats could also become heavy Republican leaning districts.
The area that Lawson’s district currently serves would be reconfigured into a primarily Republican district. Under the map, FiveThirtyEight says Republicans would be expected to win 20 percent more seats.
This would be the second time that the League of Women Voters have dealt with a case like this in the state. The LWV was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the state over its legislative and congressional boundaries during the 2012 redistricting process.
News Daytona Beach reached out to Rep. Tom Leek's office for comment. We are waiting on a response.
