TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A state appeals court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that will determine the legality of Florida’s revised congressional map, which last year controversially divided a minority-majority district in North Florida.
The hearing within the 1st District Court of Appeal comes after a Leon County judge ruled that Florida’s redistricting plan under Gov. Ron DeSantis overstepped the state constitution. In particular, critics argue the map violates a constitutional provision that prohibits actions that “diminish” the ability of minorities to “elect the representatives of their choice.”
Attorneys for the state on Tuesday, however, resisted that argument. Speaking to a panel of judges, the state described Florida’s new map as a correction of the previous map. The original map, they claimed, violated the Equal Protection Clause under the U.S. Constitution by carving out a district that caters to minority candidates.
The district in question, Congressional District 5, spans more than 200 miles from Jacksonville to Tallahassee. The Equal Protection Clause, meanwhile, provides citizens equal protection under the law. It says no state shall enforce laws that “abridge the privileges or immunities” of citizens.
“The plaintiffs here seek to invalidate the state’s race-neutral map in North Florida and replace it with one that contains a district guaranteeing that Black-preferred candidates always win,” argued Florida Solicitor General Henry Whitaker, who defended the latest map.
Plaintiffs in the case include Black Voters Matter, Florida Rising and the League of Women Voters, among others. Attorney Jyoti Jasrasaria, who represents the plaintiffs, contended Tuesday the new map is illegal. She warned the new map harms minority voters and violates state protections.
Former Congressman Al Lawson, a Black longtime Democratic lawmaker, held the CD 5 seat until the latest redistricting map. Lawson lost reelection in 2022 after lawmakers dismantled the district, ending a decades long political career in the region.
“Showing that the minority group is cohesive, and that there is racially polarized voting, and that the minority group’s candidates are able to win in primary and general elections — that’s enough to protect a district,” said Jasrasaria of the CD 5 district. “There’s no dispute that those factors are being met.”
The state and plaintiffs have requested that the court render a decision by late November. Regardless of the ruling, the case is expected to get appealed upward to the Florida Supreme Court. The congressional map, meanwhile, is also under review in federal court.
