Florida Judge Finds DeSantis-Drawn Congressional Map Unconstitutional

Sarah RumpfMay 11th, 2022, 5:18 pm
 
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A judge has found the Congressional district maps drawn by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to be in violation of the Florida Constitution, specifically regarding a majority-minority district in the state’s panhandle, and will issue a preliminary injunction blocking its implementation.

Judge J. Layne Smith of Florida’s Second Judicial Circuit (Leon County, where the state capital of Tallahassee is located), presided over a hearing earlier Wednesday in a lawsuit filed to challenge the map, which was submitted by the governor after he vetoed the map that passed the Florida House and Senate. Smith was originally appointed by former Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) and elevated to his current court by DeSantis himself.

The Florida Constitution directs the legislature to handle drawing new congressional districts, including this year’s redistricting in response to the 2020 Census granting Florida an additional seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. After DeSantis vetoed the bill containing the legislature’s suggested new district lines, they came back during April’s special session and passed the map created by the governor’s office without making any changes.

Both the Florida House and Senate are under GOP majority control, and the Democrats in the legislature objected to their colleagues allowing the governor to essentially take over a legislative function, and specifically criticized DeSantis’ map for diluting several districts that had long been represented by Black members of Congress. Democratic state representatives held a protest on the House floor, but that only temporarily delayed the vote and it passed later that same day.

Unsurprisingly, a lawsuit was filed almost immediately challenging DeSantis’ map, and the urgency of the timeline is an issue about which all parties agree. Florida’s primary election this year is on Aug. 23, early voting will begin at the beginning of August, and absentee ballots will start getting mailed out in July.

The heart of the dispute is the 5th congressional district currently held by Rep. Al Lawson (D-FL), which stretches along Florida’s northern border from Jacksonville to Tallahassee. That district is currently 49% Black. DeSantis’ map chops up the 5th congressional district into multiple parts, that are each 12% to 25% Black, according to Florida Politics reporter Jacob Ogles, who attended the hearing and live-tweeted throughout in a long thread that’s worth reading, summed up in this article.

According to Ogles, Judge Smith cited 2015 Florida Supreme Court case that upheld the current boundary lines of the 5th congressional district, pursuant to the 2010 Fair Districts amendment to the Florida Constitution that required districts to be compact and logical but also prohibited the intentional diminishment of minority votes.

“I do find persuasive the arguments that were made about the diminishment of African American votes,” said Smith about the plaintiff’s criticisms of how DeSantis’ map diluted those voters between multiple districts, and added that the Florida Supreme Court had found the 5th district passed constitutional muster. The state constitution’s prohibition on diminishing the ability of voters to elect candidates of their choice overrode the requirement for compactness, the judge added.

Smith acknowledged the tight frame imposed by the Census-induced requirement to redistrict and the looming primary elections, and noted that there was a map created and approved by both the House and Senate, and that the legislature could have reacted to DeSantis’ veto by passing a new, different map instead of adopting the governor’s map without changes during the April special session.

Another special session is scheduled for later in May, but it’s currently designated for property insurance, another highly contentious topic with a solution that’s yet to be resolved — and facing its own real world deadline with hurricane season set to begin June 1. There isn’t likely to be much time for fighting over district maps, and Smith was loath to try to order the legislature into another special session.

Instead, Smith called for an adapted version of a map previously submitted by Harvard Professor Stephen Ansolabehere, which preserves a lot of DeSantis’ map but preserves the core of Lawson’s district. Plaintiffs are likely to still be not completely satisfied, as this map still partially dilutes other majority-minority districts, like the Orlando-area one currently held by Rep. Val Demings (D-FL). Demings is challenging Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) instead of running for re-election and numerous contenders from both parties are running to take her seat.

Again acknowledging the time constraints, Smith wrapped the hearing by saying that he expected the state to immediately appeal and for the Florida Supreme Court to ultimately have to decide this issue, and promised to have his order written by Thursday. “That’s absolutely my goal and it doesn’t matter how much coffee I gotta drink to make it happen,” said Smith, according to Ogles.

This article has been updated with additional information to clarify Judge Smith’s appointment to the court.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.