Here’s what you need to know about Florida’s still-unfinished congressional maps
Gov. Ron DeSantis is going to lead the process of drawing Florida’s congressional districts, both Republican leaders in the Legislature announced in a joint statement Monday, confirming they’re going to defer to DeSantis in the once-a-decade reapportionment of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
DeSantis already vetoed the congressional map approved by the Florida Senate during the regular legislative session.
It’s now up to Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls and Senate President Wilton Simpson to work with DeSantis to put forth a map he will approve at the end of a special legislative session set to start on Tuesday, April 19.
Time is running short for voters and potential candidates, so here’s a look at where everything stands.
What does this mean for voters?
▪ The biggest disagreement on the map: The most controversial district at the center of the infighting is Congressional District 5, currently represented by U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, which runs east-west along the Georgia border from Jacksonville to Tallahassee. It’s a predominantly Black district and the only safe Democratic district in North Florida. But the governor also doesn’t agree Orlando’s District 10, a district now held by Democrat Val Demings, should also remain as a minority-majority district.
In his veto message, DeSantis argues that CD 5 is illegally gerrymandered to favor one minority group, a position that rejects the protections offered by the Fair Districts amendments to the Florida Constitution. Those provisions, approved by voters in 2010, prevent the Legislature from drawing districts that “deny racial or language minorities” the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. DeSantis also argues that the map drawn by legislators to replace it didn’t go far enough to protect Black voters. How he resolves those competing arguments with a new map is still unclear.
There’s no indication so far if DeSantis plans to resubmit either of the two maps he originally proposed, but experts and opponents of the governor alike have argued that DeSantis’ map is set to dilute minority representation in districts throughout the state.
▪ Legal challenges loom no matter what the map looks like: Last week, DeSantis said his team understands that there will be litigation.
“If it is litigated, when we have a probably cleaner product, we think that that is going to be a better position, whereas on the other side, I think it’s very vulnerable to challenge what the Legislature did,” he said.
The governor’s general counsel argued in the veto message that to be a minority-performing district it must have a majority of Black voters, not just a majority of Black voters in a primary election, which had been the Legislature’s argument. He also argued that the Legislature is bound by the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection clause and that it holds a higher priority than the Fair District provisions, which require legislators to preserve minority-performing seats.
Opponents, however, have a different view of his strategy. “The cynical take is that the intention of the Legislature is to get a map that is likely unconstitutional, but have the U.S. Supreme Court rule that it’s too late to challenge it this cycle,” said Daniel A. Smith, a University of Florida political science professor with redistricting expertise who has served as an expert witness in cases against the state.
▪ Next week is critical: The governor and the Legislature really need to get to a map they can agree on next week during the special session because by the end of the week we’ll be about 60 days away from the last day for candidates to qualify to run for Congress. That date is June 17. Candidates who want to submit signatures instead of paying the qualifying fee face an even shorter deadline: May 17.
▪ There’s no second option for a map: Because the outcome of the 2020 Census added a new congressional district for Florida, the current map with 27 districts can’t be used again in the event of an impasse between the governor and the Legislature. That new 28th district has to be drawn in. Voters and groups who advocate for voters’ rights have already asked the federal court to intervene, alleging that the standoff with the governor has led to an inevitable impasse.
▪ There’s only four months until the primary election: The general election primary is Aug. 23, so that leaves only two months for campaigning by candidates and decision making by voters no matter whether the governor, the Legislature or a court draws a final, legal map.
Miami Herald Tallahassee bureau reporter Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 11, 2022 at 7:05 PM.
