This article was originally published by Democracy Docket

By Matthew Kupfer

A day after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a new gerrymander into law, several pro-voting and civil rights organizations are suing to block the map, alleging it violates the state constitution.

In the lawsuit, the advocacy organization Common Cause is asking the court to strike down the new map because a Florida constitutional amendment bans partisan redistricting.

Common Cause is joined in the suit by the League of Women Voters of Florida and the League of United Latin American Citizens.

Sixty percent of Florida voters “banned partisan gerrymandering in 2010,” Norm Eisen, whose organization Democracy Defenders Fund filed on behalf of the plaintiffs, wrote on social media. “This map defies voters’ will.”

Separately, the Campaign Legal Center and the UCLA Voting Rights Project sued Monday on behalf of six voters to block the gerrymander.

Florida’s new map “was deliberately drawn to favor one party, utilizing partisan data in the drawing of every district, with the explicit goal of eliminating four districts held by Democrats — directly violating Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment,” the Campaign Legal Center shared in a press release.

“The map was rammed through the Legislature in only two days’ time, with no opportunity for public input before the map was drawn, and virtually none after it was introduced,” the organization added.

During a special session last week, the Florida Legislature rapidly approved the new map, which would flip up to four more seats in Congress to Republicans. 

DeSantis revealed the map just a day before the session began, giving voters little chance for input. Republican state lawmakers also acknowledged that they had no role in drawing it.

The map’s clearly partisan aims — and the fact that it violated a constitutional amendment — were hardly a secret.

It came amid a broader push by President Donald Trump for Republican-controlled states to redistrict in favor of the GOP.

Moreover, the map’s proponents “do not even attempt to argue it complies with the Florida Constitution’s ban on intentional partisan gerrymandering,” Common Cause wrote in its lawsuit. “[DeSantis’] stated map drawer repeatedly confirmed to the Florida Legislature that he considered partisan data when drawing districts.”

“The map was drawn with the intent to surgically crack and pack Democratic voters and harm Democratic incumbents in districts across the state in an attempt to gain four new congressional seats for Republicans and shore up others,” the Campaign Legal Center wrote in its suit.

The map was also expressly predicated on expectations that the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) would overturn Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which restricts racial gerrymanders.

Shortly before the Florida House was set to vote on the map, SCOTUS issued its ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, gutting the VRA. But legislators declined to halt their session to study the decision and rushed forward to vote on the gerrymander. Soon thereafter, the Florida Senate also approved it.

On Monday, DeSantis signed the new map into law.

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