JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A federal judge is considering whether to throw out Jacksonville’s newly-drawn city council and school board district map ahead of next year’s elections in March.
Plaintiffs, including voters and local chapters of the NAACP and ACLU, are alleging those maps are unconstitutionally gerrymandered by race -- diminishing the voices of Black voters.
The case is set to go to trial next year, but the plaintiffs are asking a federal judge to step in now. They argue - if candidates are elected in what are later found to be unconstitutionally drawn districts it will cause irreparable harm. Meanwhile, the city says, this a big decision that should not be decided so abruptly.
A handful of Jacksonville voters and several civil rights organizations filed the lawsuit against the city and the supervisor of elections in May -- arguing Jacksonville’s voting districts map enacted in March packed Black voters into four of 14 city council districts. They say this violates the 14th amendment by making race the predominant factor in the redistricting process.
“Preventing Black Jacksonville residents like me from voting alongside my neighbors is taking a step back,” plaintiff Rosemary McCoy said.
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The suit alleges the city council sought to maximize the number of Black voters in council districts 7, 8, 9 and 10 -- ensuring some neighboring districts had artificially high white populations while ignoring neighborhood boundaries.
Ben Frazier is the founder of the Northside Coalition, which is one of the plaintiffs.
“What we want to see is Black voters who have some impact on the body politics of Jacksonville,” Frazier said. “Right now you’ve got white city councilmen who don’t have listen to us.”
Plaintiff Ayesha Franklin explains how that affects her voting power- she says she lives in the “claw” of District 8.
“If I walk one block from home, I will cross into two different districts,” Franklin said. “But because of the color of my skin I am being prevented from voting with my neighbors for the best interest of our shared home.”
A spokesperson with the city says they don’t comment on pending litigation, but in court today, their attorney said race was not city council’s main consideration in the redistricting process.
If the judge decides to throw out the district maps, the plaintiffs are asking to give the city 21 days to redraw the maps, while reserving their right to challenge those maps and propose their own.
The judge didn’t taking any action on Friday. She said she may call the parties back for another hearing on the 29th, saying both sides did a good job advocating their positions today, which makes her decision all the more difficult.