Dem elections lawyer Marc Elias reports that a Florida court has rejected the use of highly gerrymandered Congressional district maps put forth by Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, with the state circuit court in Leon County siding with the plaintiffs in a motion to prevent their use in upcoming primaries. “I am finding the enacted map is unconstitutional because it diminishes African Americans’ ability to elect candidates of their choice,” said Judge Layne Smith.
DeSantis had personally taken over the responsibility of redrawing Congressional districts after multiple versions prepared by the Republican-led legislature were rejected by various courts. DeSantis rejected district boundaries created by state-assigned independent non-partisan groups, and decided he knew how to screw the voters of Florida out of their voice in government better. The court disagreed, and now the issue must be resolved again.
“The Secretary’s arguments are nothing but a transparent attempt to muddy a straightforward constitutional challenge,” the motion read. “The DeSantis Plan plainly dilutes Plaintiffs’ electoral power in violation of the Florida Constitution. For these reasons, and those stated below, Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court grant their motion for a temporary injunction.”