Florida judge strikes down DeSantis approved congressional map, rules unconstitutional

Just the News ^ | 9/4/23 | Joseph Weber

[CFW]

AFlorida judge this weekend struck down a congressional map approved by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, ruling it diluted minority voting power in the region, making it “unconstitutional.”

“This Court will declare the enacted map unconstitutional and enjoin the Secretary of State from using that map in future congressional elections,” according to the ruling issued Saturday by Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh.

Marsh also said in the ruling that the state legislature will have to redraw the map again because the plaintiffs have shown this one causes “diminishment of black voters’ ability to elect their candidate of choice in violation of the Florida Constitution.”

[CFW]

It's amazing how only conservative states' congressional maps are found to be unconstitutional, while the district maps in democrat controlled states, no matter how meandering, are always found to be just fine.

[buwaya]

If I recall correctly, racially gerrymandering districts just trashes Democrat voting power and increases Republican congressional representation.

This is because reliable Democrat voters (mainly blacks) are concentrated in order to create black safe seats. The Republicans meanwhile get more opportunities to win seats.

The Democrats have been between a rock and a hard place on this. They can cry about their voters being inefficiently distributed, but...

[napscoordinator]

Has any Republican sued a blue state? I only know Maryland and I don’t believe that’s resolved yet. You can’t complain if republicans don’t sue.

[Roadrunner383]

The ruling is from a single State Circuit Court Judge. The Supreme Ct. in FL is very conservative and is going to get involved.

[bantam]

See Pennsylvania!!
Classic case of demoRATS rolling over republitards in drawing maps!!
Hope Florida Republicans don’t fold like cuck PA squish Rep’s

[Liaison]

I’m sorry but isn’t it illegal to discriminate based on ethnicity so why can a judge make decision based on “dilution of minority” voting?
Are not all people equal regardless of voting district? /sarc

[CFW]

“You can’t complain if republicans don’t sue.”

---

Watch and see if I can’t! LOL!

The GOPe is a bunch of whiny letter-writers much like members of an HOA. Just with less back-bone, fewer balls, and the unwillingness and inability to enforce their demands. I’ll be glad when they are as extinct as the dodo bird.

[lightman]

“diminishment of black voters’ ability to elect their candidate of choice in violation of the Florida Constitution.”,

Diminishment of black voter's ability to elect their candidate "of choice" or "of COLOR?"

[Governor Dinwiddie]

[Political Junkie Too]

“This Court will declare the enacted map unconstitutional and enjoin the Secretary of State from using that map in future congressional elections,”

Why doesn't someone challenge this to the Supreme Court?

The Constitution says to reapportion every 10 years. Florida reapportioned and held an election under the new districts. I would think that SCOTUS would decide that states cannot redistrict every time someone loses an election to "fix" the district that the Democrat party lost.

The Constitution says they get one bite at that apple per decade, and that's what SCOTUS should rule. Once an election is held against the new districts, they must remain in place until the next census and reapportionment.

-PJ

[Taxman]

ANY competent computer programmer could write a short program which would, irrespective of race, gender, past voting record, etc. etc., create equal sized Congressional districts for every state!

Nothing matters but population, and equally populated districts!

One person, one vote!

Piece of cake!

[Secret Agent Man]

Where in any constitution does it say any racial group has a right to elect a candidate of their choice? I’m white and I don’t get the candidate of my choice elected much of the time.

[Political Junkie Too]

while the district maps in democrat controlled states, no matter how meandering, are always found to be just fine

Here is the district in question:

Florida CD-5 = Al Lawson (D-Tallahassee)

He supposedly represents Tallahassee, but his district runs all the way to Jacksonville?

The problem with the district is that it is long and narrow, spanning from Tallahassee to Jacksonville. Districts should be compact so that the people being represented share common issues.

It's hard to imagine that the people of Tallahassee (western panhandle, FSU, state government workers) have the same issues as the people of Jacksonville (Atlantic coastal, seaport, densest Florida city).

Here is Dan Crenshaw's (R-TX) old gerrymandered district from 2010 (includes Humble, Memorial, Montrose, Rice University):

Here is Lizzie Fletcher's (D-TX) current district. She used to represent the wealthiest neighborhoods and the so-called Energy Corridor when she took the seat from longtime Republican Rep. John Culberson, but was just gerrymandered to the south, giving River Oaks, Memorial, Katy, and the Energy Corridor back to Republican representation.

Her new district includes the liberal Montrose and Rice University sections that used to be in Dan Crenshaw's district (Crenshaw moved northwest to take over The Woodlands), plus the Asian and Hispanic sections of Ft. Bend County.

This is a new (gerrymandered around Corpus Christi) district created after the 2010 reapportionment.

It went 61-38 for Obama in 2012, 59-37 for Clinton in 2016, but 51-47 for Biden in 2020. It is the district that flipped to Republican for the first time in 150 years when the people voted for Mayra Flores in June.

Here are other obviously racially gerrymandered districts across the country.

Debbie Dingell's current district:

Sheila Jackson Lee's district:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez' district:

Ayanna Pressley's district:

Rashida Talib's district:

Maryland CD3 = John Sarbanes (D-Baltimore).

Texas CD33 = Mark Veasey (D-Ft. Worth)

Illinois CD4 = Jesús "Chuy" Garcia (D-Chicago)

Texas CD35 = Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin)

Louisiana CD2 = Troy Carter (D-New Orleans)

-PJ

[KC_Conspirator]

There a few districts purely cut out for democrap seats; they look ridiculous.

[mbrfl]

I imagine they will. I can’t imagine the Florida Supreme Court allowing this to stand.

[chickenlips]

MD CD 3 was changed with the last redistricting and it isn’t serpentine any longer. The districts are more compact in MD now, but still designed to give Demoncrats all the advantages.

[Political Junkie Too]

Thanks for the update. I'll make adjustments to future posts.

-PJ

[lurk]

The Supremes sure opened a can of worms with their recent race-based ruling on voting districts.

[pacificus]

Judges like this are literally fighting against Republicans!

We must purge the judiciary of these criminals, OR, we’ll be deemed illegal by the authority of state and federal courts!

Impeach, remove and prosecute these judges for violating their paths of office!

If you can’t stomach that, you’ve surrendered to total democratic government!

They have no hesitation to putting your neck under the guillotine!

[j.havenfarm]

The Writ of Certiorari will only issue after a ruling by the highest court in the state. This needs to go the appellate and FLorida Supreme Court before SCOTUS will take it up