Florida lawsuit aims to block DeSantis' unconstitutional gerrymander scheme
News and commentary for Floridians and other Americans concerned about the future of our democracy
Not so fast, Ron!
That’s the message lawyers have delivered to Gov. Ron DeSantis about his plans to further gerrymander Florida’s congressional districts.
Two Florida voters, backed by the National Redistricting Foundation, have filed a petition with the Florida Supreme Court to put the brakes on DeSantis’ plan to hold a special legislative session in April to add more Republican seats in Congress.
The lawsuit, filed by Elizabeth Pines from Miami-Dade County and Eugene Pettis from Broward County, asks the court to void the governor’s proclamation declaring 2026 an apportionment year and to block Secretary of State Cord Byrd’s directive implementing that proclamation, Florida Phoenix reports.
DeSantis usurped the legislative power granted solely to the Florida Legislature by Article III, Section 1, of the Florida Constitution, the petition argues.
“By using a proclamation to declare 2026 an apportionment year, Governor DeSantis exceeded his constitutional authority by usurping a core legislative responsibility in service of his desire to enact a mid-decade gerrymander. The Florida Constitution is clear, the legislature is the branch of government that is responsible for redistricting,” said Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Redistricting Foundation, in a written statement.
“In order to protect the rights of Florida voters, the court must strike down this woeful and blatant disregard for the state’s constitutional guardrails. This is a straightforward case, and we are confident that justice will prevail.”
The National Redistricting Foundation is the legal arm of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee and has filed similar lawsuits in other red states that are following President Donald Trump’s orders to tilt the midterm elections.
Trump is terrified that if he doesn’t step in and find some way to turn the fall election around, Democrats will retake at least the House—maybe the Senate, too—and the first thing they’ll do is impeach him.
Obediently, DeSantis called a special session of the State Legislature for April to do just that—redraw the districts from which members of the House of Representatives are elected. The goal is to leverage a few more Republican districts out of the scheme.
All this, in and of itself, is unconstitutional. Florida does not allow gerrymandering for political purposes. At least, that’s what the law says.
But what the attorneys are arguing is that DeSantis and Byrd, working in cahoots, have exceeded their authority.
On the same day DeSantis announced the special session, Byrd, appointed by DeSantis, sent a letter to local election supervisors instructing them to “implement candidate qualifying rules that only apply in a year in which the Legislature redraws congressional districts,” according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The lawsuit argues that both DeSantis and Byrd are trying to “commandeer the Legislature’s authority to decide whether and when to redraw Florida’s congressional boundaries. Their actions have already disrupted Florida’s impending elections by casting significant uncertainty on the future of Florida’s congressional map and the relevant candidate filing deadlines.”
For the record, Florida is already heavily gerrymandered.
Of the state’s 28 congressional seats, 20 are held by Republicans, a clear distortion of the state’s voter registration.
As you can see, Republicans are well ahead in the voter-registration race in Florida. Of the state’s 13.3 million registered voters, 5.5 million are Republicans and 4 million are Democrats. There are also another 3.7 million voters who are either members of minor parties or unaffiliated with any party.
That’s about a 60/40 split between the two major parties, so, in all fairness, you would expect there to be more Florida Republicans in Congress based on that. In fact, it would be reasonable to expect that 60 percent of our elected representatives would be members of the GOP.
But that’s not the case.
In fact, 71 percent are Republican.
Why?
Because of the way the Republican-dominated State Legislature has carved up the state’s districts to favor GOP candidates.
Now DeSantis wants even more seats.
Whether this lawsuit will throw a monkey wrench into this redistricting effort remains to be seen, but at the very least, it helps shine a light on all these shenanigans.
And, in any event, it could backfire.
The state of California, in response to Trump, has drawn up a new congressional map that may add five new Democratic members of Congress. The U.S. Supreme Court this week upheld that redistricting.
And even if Republicans are successful in redrawing Florida’s congressional boundaries, there is no guarantee that would result in more GOP members of Congress from the Sunshine State.
That’s one of the perils of this maneuvering.
When you move Republicans into a Democratic district to manipulate election results, by definition you are diluting GOP strength somewhere else. Those Republicans will be coming from districts that are now safe for Republicans. Will they still be safe after all this rearranging?
You can only play these games so much before the law of unintended consequences rears its mischievous head and you’re hoisted on your own petard.
J.C. Bruce is the founder of Tropic Press, a Florida online news service dedicated to sharing news and commentary relevant to Florida readers, whether it originates in the Sunshine State or elsewhere. Bruce is an award-winning former newspaper editor, journalist and author living in Florida, his native state.
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If you're a Trump supporter you have no scruples about cheating or lying birds of a feather flock together
Republicans already have most of the seats in this state that’s been gerrymandered for years. Forcing a redistricting now is just pandering to Trump’s fear of losing and being held accountable, not helping make the “free state of Florida” better in any meaningful way. There’s so much more needed legislation that needs to be done but, so far, nothing that actually helps any of the people who need help here.