JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Attorneys for the city of Jacksonville have now responded to a request by the Jacksonville Branch of the NAACP and other civil rights groups, which asked a federal judge to set special elections for two Duval County school board seats in 2024.
The organizations filed their motion last month, following a settlement of their lawsuit against the city over the redistricting process for city council districts.
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The districts in question, Districts 4 and 6, were just up for election in 2022, and ordinarily would not be up for election until 2026.
The 2022 school board elections were held under the old maps because it was too close to when the new maps were being finalized, the result of a lawsuit involving those same civil rights groups.
READ MORE: Federal lawsuit over Jacksonville’s city council redistricting ends with settlement
Board member Darryl Willie was reelected in District 4 and board member Charlotte Joyce was reelected in District 6 last year.
In its response, the city argues that at no point until now did the plaintiffs claim they were looking to resolve problems from the maps set in 2011, which were used for the 2022 school board elections. Attorneys also argue that holding special elections next year would force more school board members to split their time between campaigning and fulfilling the duties of their office during the summer months, a time when the board is working to get ready for the upcoming school year.
The plaintiffs had argued that when the judge blocked the maps approved by the city council, the judge said they were “substantially the same” as the maps approved in 2011. They argue that in order to remedy the gerrymandering from the old maps, new school board elections need to be held sooner for those two districts, because the city council districts that make up those school board districts, were changed significantly.
While plaintiffs argued that since they are proposing that the special elections be held in 2024 (August/November), at the same time as other school board elections, it wouldn’t be a significant disruption, the city points to potential issues, such as the ballot getting so long that additional pages may be needed, or voter confusion, since all but one of the school board’s seven districts would wind up being up for election.
COURT DOCUMENTS: City’s response to motion for special election | Declaration by April Carney | Declaration by Darryl Willie | Declaration by Charlotte Joyce | Declaration by chief elections assistant Justin Gicalone
The response from the city was accompanied by declarations from three school board members: April Carney (District 2), Darryl Willie (District 4), and Charlotte Joyce (District 6). Willie and Joyce point to potential issues with having to run for office unexpectedly, and potential voter confusion from asking their constituents to vote for them again, when their term had been scheduled to run until 2026.
It will be up to a federal judge to rule on the request.