Florida Supreme Court Authorizes Changes to State’s Congressional Map

The Florida Supreme Court has approved a new map of the state’s congressional districts, upending its political landscape ahead of the pivotal 2016 elections.

Florida Senate boundaries also are entangled in the courts, with a December 14-18 trial scheduled in Tallahassee that also is expected to result in a recommended map to justices, who will also decide those district lines.

Slot machines are now limited to South Florida tracks and casinos run by the Seminole tribe. Judge Barbara Pariente was quoted as saying the change would bring important finality to litigation concerning the state’s redistricting that has been in court for 40 years.

Florida’s GOP-controlled Legislature, however, might also keep alive the legal fight since legislative leaders had urged the court to reject the map approved by Lewis. Sen. Jolly, meanwhile, has announced he won’t seek reelection and is running for Marco Rubio’s soon-to-be-open senate seat instead. This is the latest in a redistricting saga that began in the wake of a 2010 voter-approved amendment to the state constitution that called for districts to be drawn in a way that is fair, i.e.no drawing them in the shape of a sci-fi alien bug so your buddies can get elected.

The approval means Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent will spend thousands of dollars to notify local voters of changes – a total that could reach as high as $250,000 if state Senate maps change substantially.

The ruling cements the districts in which voters will vote for members of the U.S. House next year. The legislature has tried since then to draw new maps.

A coalition of groups challenged the map approved by the Legislature in 2012 arguing that lawmakers did not follow the Fair Districts constitutional amendment prohibiting districts that favor a candidate or political party.

In Central Florida the ruling may force Congressman Daniel Webster, a Republican, to move if he intends to stay in office.

The Legislature’s first approved map was declared unconstitutional by Lewis in 2013, who ruled that interference by Republican consultants had “made a mockery” of voter-approved anti-gerrymandering constitutional standards. The previous configuration had allowed lawmakers to pack Democrats into that district and strengthen neighboring Republican districts. Justice Ricky Polston sharply criticized the decision because Lewis had relied on a map that was drawn with the help of a firm that works for Democratic candidates. It is an East-West district that remedies the improper partisan intent found in the prior version of District 5. Rep. Corrine Brown’s current district snakes all the way from Jacksonville to the Orlando area and includes many African-American voters.