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In It to Win It

(11,143 posts)
Thu Jul 17, 2025, 03:18 PM Thursday

Florida Supreme Court upholds DeSantis-congressional districts map that eliminated a majority-Black seat

So... the Florida constitution's Fair Districts Amendments are completely useless. We're stuck with a gerrymandered map and majority-minority districts can't be protected. The amendments are just words on a page now.

Florida’s congressional districts will stand now that the Florida Supreme Court upheld the maps and rejected a challenge over a former district that stretched from Jacksonville to Tallahassee.

The court ruled July 17 in a 5-1 opinion that the Legislature couldn’t have kept the old Congressional District 5 intact without drawing it based on racial motives, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

“We uphold our state’s congressional districting plan, because the federal Equal Protection Clause prohibits the racially gerrymandered district that the plaintiffs demand,” Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz wrote for the majority.

A group of voting-rights groups, including Black Voters Matter and the League of Women Voters of Florida, had challenged the new districts. They claimed the new maps violated Florida's anti-gerrymandering Fair Districts Amendment passed by voters in 2010, which bars the Legislature from drawing maps that diminish the ability of minority groups to elect a representative of their choice.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-supreme-court-upholds-desantis-165231553.html
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Florida Supreme Court upholds DeSantis-congressional districts map that eliminated a majority-Black seat (Original Post) In It to Win It Thursday OP
OK BLUE STATES: Chasstev365 Thursday #1
Bastards. Passages Thursday #2
At best, we had 4-3 liberal majority in 2016, and that was with 3 Dem appointees and a moderate Crist (R) appointee In It to Win It Thursday #3
They came to an unethical conclusion. Passages Thursday #4

Chasstev365

(5,770 posts)
1. OK BLUE STATES:
Thu Jul 17, 2025, 03:20 PM
Thursday

If they're not going follow rules or laws, redistrict Republicans out of existence in your states.

Passages

(3,305 posts)
2. Bastards.
Thu Jul 17, 2025, 03:24 PM
Thursday
But the change came after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed five of the members of the state Supreme Court. The court in 2016 had a 5-2 liberal majority, but that has turned into a 6-1 conservative swing after DeSantis’ appointments.

DeSantis was also behind the Legislature’s drawing of the new districts.

In It to Win It

(11,143 posts)
3. At best, we had 4-3 liberal majority in 2016, and that was with 3 Dem appointees and a moderate Crist (R) appointee
Thu Jul 17, 2025, 04:52 PM
Thursday

The Democratic appointees had reached the mandatory age of retirement so, very much like the 2016 Presidential election for SCOTUS, the election for Florida governor in 2018 was also an election for the Florida Supreme Court. The person that won got to replace the 3 Democratic appointees.

Passages

(3,305 posts)
4. They came to an unethical conclusion.
Thu Jul 17, 2025, 04:59 PM
Thursday

Challenges to Congressional Redistricting in Florida | Video

PBS
https://www.pbs.org › Home › Videos
Jul 7, 2023 — WUCF's NewsNight looks at how a U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down redrawn Congressional district lines in Alabama and Louisiana ...


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