Court to consider whether new House map violates state ban on partisan gerrymandering

New U.S. House districts that could help Republicans win several additional seats in Florida are expected to face their first test in court Friday against claims they violate a state constitutional ban on partisan gerrymandering.

The lawsuits filed on behalf of voters ask a state judge to block the districts from being used in midterm elections. The move would create a significant obstacle in President Donald Trump’s attempt to maintain a narrow majority in the House by redrawing voting districts to the Republican Party’s advantage.

Republicans already hold 20 of the 28 seats in the Florida House of Representatives. New voting districts signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis after a quick two-day special legislative session could improve the GOP’s chances of picking up four more seats in the November election.

The Florida Legislature approved the new House plan on April 29 — the same day the U.S. Supreme Court weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections for minorities while overturning a majority-black congressional district in Louisiana. Since then, several Southern states have taken steps to try to eliminate minority districts that elected Democrats.

Congressional districts are typically redrawn once a decade, after each census, to rebalance populations. But since Trump pushed for mid-decade redistricting last year, Republicans believe they could gain as many as 15 seats with the new congressional maps in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama. Democrats, meanwhile, believe they could gain six seats with new maps in California and Utah.

Democrats hoped to pick up as many as four additional seats in Virginia. But the Virginia Supreme Court last week struck down a voter-approved Democratic redistricting plan, ruling that the Legislature violated procedural requirements by placing it on the ballot.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that it did not have the authority to decide whether partisan gerrymandering went too far. But he said partisan gerrymandering claims could continue to be decided by state courts under their own constitutions and laws.

Florida voters approved an amendment to the state Constitution in 2010 that prohibits districts in the U.S. House of Representatives from being drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor any political party or incumbent president. The amendment prohibits districts from diminishing the ability of racial or linguistic minorities to elect representatives of their choice. It also requires districts to be compact and, where possible, use existing political and geographic boundaries.

The lawsuits filed on behalf of the voters seek a temporary injunction against the U.S. House of Representatives’ new map for violating that amendment. The prosecutions focus heavily on political favoritism.

“The plan takes the state’s partisan bias to an unprecedented extreme,” said one of three lawsuits filed in Leon County.

A legal brief filed on behalf of the Florida Senate argues that partisan intent has not been proven and that a temporary injunction against the new districts is not appropriate before a fully developed trial.

Although DeSantis summoned lawmakers before the Supreme Court’s decision in the Louisiana case, he anticipated an eventual outcome weakening the Voting Rights Act’s protections for minority districts. Among other changes, Florida’s new map reshapes a southeast Florida district that DeSantis’ office says was created to help elect a Black representative in an effort to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act.

DeSantis’ office said no racial data was used to prepare the new map he presented to the Legislature. In a memo to lawmakers, DeSantis’ general counsel David Axelman argued that Florida’s constitutional provision regarding racial redistricting violates the U.S. Constitution. If one element is invalid, Axelman wrote, then the entire 2010 amendment is void, including the provisions prohibiting partisan gerrymandering.

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Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri, and Schneider from Orlando, Florida.