These updates are not intended to be a complete discussion of redistricting in Florida. For more information on redistricting, please go to the LWVAC Redistricting 2022 webpage.

Concluding Summary as of 07/07/22

Every 10 years, after the census, the Florida Legislature is responsible for redrawing the Districts used for electing State and Congressional Legislators. At the start of the process, the LWV and other advocates were concerned that the maps might reflect political gerrymandering and limit the representation of minorities. Fair district advocates considered the final Senate and House maps to be reasonably free from political gerrymandering but were concerned they did not reflect the increased minority population experienced over the last decade. However, the maps were approved by the Florida Supreme Court and no lawsuits were filed.

The Legislature had posted a series of Congressional maps that many advocates found reasonable. They were politically balanced and retained existing minority access districts. Governor Ron Desantis, in an unprecedented move, submitted a map that was highly politically gerrymandered and reduced the number of African American access districts by half. These maps are considered to be non-compliant with the Fair Districts provisions of the Florida Constitution. The Legislature pushed back but, ultimately, gave in to the intense pressure and passed the Governor’s map. Voting rights organizations filed lawsuits but were outmaneuvered by the Governor who has managed to delay the hearings until after the 2022 elections.

This will conclude our monthly updates on redistricting but you can learn more about redistricting in Florida and review the entire saga on this page and the other articles outlining the process.

Updated 06/02/22

On June 2, Florida Supreme Court rejected a request by voting rights groups to stay a decision by the 1st District Court of Appeal, leaving in place a lower-court decision that clears the way for using a controversial plan that Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed through the Legislature. - Tampa Bay Times

The organizational plaintiffs in the redistricting litigation (which includes the League) issued the following statement in response to the Florida Supreme Court's decision to decline the hearing prior to the 2022 election.

“We are extremely disappointed with the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the stay and to continue to allow the state to move forward with the implementation of the wholly unconstitutional, racially gerrymandered Congressional District 5 that violates Florida’s Fair Districts Amendments.

The Governor’s attempt to delay these proceedings past the point that local Supervisors of Elections can successfully implement a constitutional map is a direct attack on the rights of all Floridians of all races who voted for Fair Districts. This attempt is also a focused assault on the ability of Black voters to choose the representation they deserve.”

Stay tuned as we continue to share more updates surrounding this crucial litigation. One thing to take away: our case is not over! - LWVFL

Updated 05/15/22

If you have been following along, you know Florida's redistricting plan is currently being battled in the courts. The situation changes, almost daily, as cases are heard and appealed. Below is a brief summary of just the past two weeks. It may even change by the time you read this, but we will continue to keep you updated as the process continues.

As of 05/13/22: Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration has appealed the decision against a key part of his congressional redistricting plan, triggering an automatic stay of the ruling by Leon Circuit Judge Layne Smith. This effectively means his decision will be on hold until the appeal is considered by the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee. - Politico

As of 05/11/22: Circuit Judge Layne Smith has decided that Florida’s new congressional redistricting plan is unconstitutional to the extent it eliminates prospects that Blacks in North Florida will be able to elect a candidate of their choice. - Florida Phoenix

As of 05/03/22: U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor canceled a trial set to begin May 12 after plaintiffs filed to change the scope of the case and argued the map Gov. Ron DeSantis’ team designed was “infected by racial discrimination against Black Floridians.”. Attorneys for Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee have until May 9 to respond to the allegations of racial discrimination waged in the suit. While the case file remains open, taking the redistricting trial off the calendar means there’s no way courts can replace Florida’s congressional map ahead of the 2022 elections. - Florida Politics

Updated 04/10/22

True to his word, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday vetoed the congressional redistricting maps approved by Florida’s Legislature, calling lawmakers back to Tallahassee for a special session in April. As of now, the special session will only focus on congressional redistricting. The session will be held from April 19 to April 22. - Tampa Bay Times.

We will keep you updated once the special session concludes.

Updated 03/21/22

The Congressional map is still mired in controversy. The governor has stated his intent to veto the maps. There are no guidelines for what happens if he follows through on his threat.

If the Governor vetoes the map(s) and calls a Special Session, it is considered unlikely that there would be enough votes to override it. The delay could interfere with the 2022 elections, so on March 11, a lawsuit was filed in the (Florida) Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit in and for Leon County over the state’s failure to enact a new congressional map.

It alleges there “is no reasonable prospect that Florida’s political branches will reach consensus and enact a lawful congressional redistricting plan in time for the upcoming 2022 elections,” and therefore the court must step in to enact a new map. The plaintiffs point out that Florida’s current congressional map, which was drawn with 2010 census data, does not accurately reflect the state’s population, and therefore the current districts are malapportioned in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Given the state’s “near-certain” impasse and the fast-approaching 2022 elections, the plaintiffs ask the court to implement a new map using 2020 census data that accurately reflects the state’s population and adheres to the constitutional requirement of one person, one vote.(1)

A similar lawsuit was filed on the same day by Common Cause and Fair Districts Florida in Federal Court. The complaint requests the court draw the new congressional districts and disallow the state from using the current congressional map because it does not include all the additional district awarded during reapportionment.(2)

Observers warn that DeSantis wants a courtroom fight targeting the state’s Fair Districts Amendments which govern redistricting. These amendments prohibit political gerrymandering and protect minority voting rights.

DeSantis is quoted as saying his threat to veto the map drawn by the Legislature “… is designed to potentially lead to a legal challenge of Florida’s redistricting amendments,”

DeSantis has been citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling made in 2017 which declared racial gerrymandering unconstitutional, except in limited circumstances. It is uncertain that the North Florida District which has become a focal point in the discussion would meet the requirements.(3)

Updated 03/10/22

The Supreme Court of Florida has approved the maps submitted by the Florida House and Senate which makes them final, unless litigation is filed later. So far, there have been no legal challenges to either map. Both maps are expected to result in Republican majorities in the Legislature and include the same minority opportunity districts that were established using 2010 census data. In the last decade, Florida has acquired more than 2.7 million additional residents. More than 90% of the new residents were classified by the Census Bureau as non-white. The majority of the new residents were classified as Hispanic.

The New House Map divides Alachua County into three Districts, 10, 21, and 22. District 10 covers the northern section of the county, 21 is in the southeastern section and is similar to the district represented by Yvonne Hinson, and 22 covers the southwestern section of the county and is similar to the district currently represented by Chuck Clemons.

The New Senate Map divides Alachua County into two districts, 6 and 9. District 6 covers the northern part of the county and District 9 covers the southern part of the county. The previous map included all of Alachua County in a single district which was represented by Keith Perry.

The Congressional Map has become very controversial. The Governor has imposed himself in the process in an unprecedented manner by releasing his own maps. The Governor’s maps increase the number of districts which Republicans are likely to win and diminish the opportunity of minority voters to elect representatives of their choice.

The Senate passed a reasonably fair congressional map and the House seemed poised to do so but at the last minute modified its proposed map. Under pressure from the Governor, both the House and Senate agreed on a congressional map that is considered by critics to be politically gerrymandered and reduces the opportunity of minority voters to elect a representative of their choice. Because the legislators know the proposed map may face litigation, they included a second map as a backup in case the first map fails a legal challenge. The governor has stated his intent to veto the primary map. After it is sent to the Governor, he has 15 days to sign it. There are no guidelines for what happens if the governor vetoes it. The Legislature is responsible for drawing the Congressional map and the session is expected to end soon, so there is speculation that a special session may be called.

Updated 02/10/22

Legislative Maps (Florida House and Senate) have been approved by both chambers and are being forwarded to the Florida Supreme Court (SCOFL) for review. The House map (H8013) is likely to result in election of 71 Republicans and 49 Democrats. The Senate map (S8058) is likely to result in election of 23 Republicans and 19 Democrats. Although the new maps will increase the number of Democratic legislators, they still result in a solid Republican majority in both chambers. Both maps reduce the voting power of Alachua County residents. The Senate map now divides Alachua County into two districts and the House map divides us among three districts. Despite the disadvantage to Alachua County, the maps are not likely to be litigated based on political gerrymandering. The League of Women Voters and other Fair District advocates are concerned about the adequacy of minority representation. This issue is explained in the last article of our redistricting series and further updated in the Op-Ed published in the Gainesville Sun.

The Florida Congressional map (US House of Representatives) has become contentious. The Senate approved a map (C8060), and the House was poised to approve its own version until the governor’s office released a map (C0079). The normal process is for the House and Senate to agree on a map which is then submitted to the Governor for review. Congressional maps have always been approved, and there is no legal guidance if the governor vetoes it. The governor does not have a role in map development, so this action is unprecedented and disruptive. The map submitted by the governor is highly gerrymandered in favor of the Republicans and reduces the Black Minority Opportunity districts from four to two. There are 5 districts they are claiming are Hispanic Opportunity Districts (compared to the current number of four) but they are not expected to result in the election of a preferred candidate.

The Governor submitted questions about the constitutionality of his map to the SCOFL. The SCOFL responded by asking for public input on whether it has the authority to respond to the questions. Several Fair District advocates submitted briefs arguing against it. On February 10, the SCOFL announced that it was not going to issue an opinion on the C0079 map. The ball is now with the House, which must make a recommendation on a Congressional map.

Be sure you have all of the background information needed to best understand this process by reviewing the articles published on the LWVAC Florida Redistricting webpage.

Updated 01/11/22

Even though the 2022 Legislative Session is just beginning, redistricting is in full swing. District maps for the Florida House and Senate, as well as Congressional maps should be completed by the end of the legislative session.

The Senate has been more transparent than the House and has directed all Redistricting Committee members and Senate members to comply with the Florida Constitution and heed the warnings issued by the judges in the lawsuit filed during the 2012 redistricting debacle. The Senate has released several versions of both Senate and Congressional maps. Fair district advocates are indicating relief that they are not as politically gerrymandered as they had feared. The anticipated political impact remains similar to the current status, which awards Republicans more seats than Democrats in both the US House of Representatives and the Florida Senate. The Senate Reapportionment Committee is going to discuss the maps on Tuesday, January 11th, and vote on their preferred versions of the Senate and Congressional maps on Thursday January 13th. For more background on this process, please see the redistricting articles on our website.

All versions of Senate maps split Alachua County into two districts. This dilutes our ability to vote for a Senator that represents our interests and thereby influence state policy. Since the general impression of the Senate maps is positive, there will be no statewide push back, so we are on our own in trying to influence the Senate Committee to revise the map to put Alachua County in a single senate district. The LWVAC Board of Directors has approved a resolution requesting the Florida Senate direct staff to draft a constitutionally compliant Florida Senate map that retains all of Alachua County in a single district.

We encourage all LWVAC members to go the state redistricting website and submit written testimony requesting Alachua County be kept in a single district.

It can be a short comment. To submit testimony please go here. You can review what others have said by going here. We are also approaching City and County Commissioners to ask them to participate in advocacy to keep Alachua County in a single senate district.

The Congressional maps proposed by the Senate are considered free of overt political gerrymandering and the most recent version keeps all of Alachua County in a single district. We hope that is the one that will be chosen by the committee. Of the current congressional maps, the preferred one is C8040.

The LWVFL has been urging the Senate and House to conduct an analysis of minority rights. The Senate claims they have done so, but it appears that they are simply maintaining the minority opportunity districts established using 2010 data. Assessing compliance with the requirements for protection of minority rights is complicated and more information will be available in the last article in our redistricting series. Watch our website for updates.

The House is less transparent. It has released several versions of Florida House and Congressional maps, and the statewide consensus alleges the proposed maps are politically gerrymandered. There has been no staff discussion of analysis of minority rights. The House is accepting in-person comments at a committee meeting held in Tallahassee on Tuesday, January 11th from 4:00PM-6:00PM. Fair District Advocates are urging community members to testify, but as the State is not allowing mask mandates in the capitol complex, it is uncertain as to how many will risk attending in person. Information on next steps or time frames on the House redistricting process has not been announced.

Updated 11/30/21

Background

State and Congressional district maps must follow the rules established by the Florida Constitution which require they not be drawn with the intent to favor a political party or to abridge the opportunity of racial or language minorities to diminish their ability to elect representatives of their choice.

Determining compliance of maps with these requirements requires technical skill and tools. Assessing the political impact is more easily done than evaluating the ability of minorities to elect representatives of their choice. The media is reporting the results of the political analyses of district maps but the impact on minority rights has not been done.

The Senate drawn maps retained the prior minority opportunity districts but have not evaluated the need for additional districts. The League of Women Voters is asking for your support in requesting the state to conduct a state-wide functional analysis to determine the need for additional minority opportunity districts.

Senate Drawn Maps

• 8 Senate and 8 Congressional maps have been released by Senate Committee
• Many districts in both sets of maps are acceptable according to political analysis reported by media
• Congressional map C8022 maintains existing (political) representation best out of the 4 proposed congressional maps originally released because it is the only map that
• Keeps central Florida communities the most intact, even with the addition of the new congressional district
• Keeps the Broward and Palm Beach districts closer to their current configurations*
• All Senate maps of Senate Districts divide Alachua County into 2 districts
• We need to advocate for a map that keeps Alachua in one district
• Other issues in Tampa Bay area and Dade County need to be addressed

House Drawn Maps

• 2 House and 2 Congressional maps have been released
• Both house and congressional maps “do not reflect the population of Florida according to the latest census data…and were clearly drawn to completely tip the political balance in favor of the Republicans”*
• “Floridaʼs leaders must listen to their constituents and create new maps building upon the successful implementation of the Fair Districts Amendments” *
• “The two new House maps drew an “F” grade from RepresentUS, an outside group analyzing redistricting efforts with the Princeton Gerrymandering Project.“In contrast to the approach taken by their counterparts in the Florida Senate, the Florida House maps clearly will not pass constitutional muster,” said Joe Kabourek, senior campaign director with RepresentUS.”**

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