JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Last week, an appeals court ruled the Florida Legislature didn’t violate the state constitution when it approved congressional maps pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that helped the GOP replace a Black Democratic representative with a white conservative.
The 1st District Court of Appeal reversed a lower court’s ruling that the map that rewrote U.S. Rep. Al Lawson’s district was unconstitutional because it diminished Black voters’ ability to elect a candidate of their choice.
When voters go to the polls, they usually know what congressional districts they can vote in, but in the past congressional race in North Florida, the congressional boundary lines shifted and so has the controlling political party. In Jacksonville, instead of a Democrat holding a House of Representatives, which they have for decades, it’s now Republican Rep. Aaron Bean.
That shift in districts came about after Gov. DeSantis and the Republican-controlled legislature approved the redrawn lines. Last September, a court ruled those lines are unconstitutional but the state court of appeals reversed the ruling.
“The word that comes to mind is distressed. Very, very unhappy with the decision made by the Court of Appeals,” said Dr. Marcella Washington, a former political science instructor and current community activist. “The court is looking at the fact that it doesn’t matter if we have Black representation. Jacksonville has the largest Black population in the state, it’s home to the largest Black population, and there’s no Black or African American congressional representation.”
According to The Hill, the old 5th District had a Black population of about 46 percent, while the new district is just 12.8 percent Black — with the remaining Black population split across other districts.
“This redistricting process is a disservice to the people of Jacksonville,” Florida State Senator and Democrat Tracie Davis said in a statement.
Republican Florida State Rep. Dean Black said the new district makes more sense.
“Northeast Florida deserves local representation in Congress and not a district that stretches all the way from Jacksonville to Tallahassee. I am hopeful that the Florida Supreme Court will uphold the First DCA’s ruling,” Black said in a statement.
DeSantis pushed to have the district dismantled. He argued that the federal Constitution doesn’t allow race to be considered in drawing congressional maps and that the district didn’t adhere to requirements that it be compact. Lawson’s district stretched about 200 miles from downtown Jacksonville west to rural Gadsden County along the Georgia border. The appeals court agreed with DeSantis that a district can’t be drawn to connect two Black communities that otherwise have no connection.
The resulting map helped Republicans earn a majority in the House and left Black voters in north Florida with only white representation in Washington for an area that stretches about 360 miles from the Alabama border to the Atlantic Ocean and south from the Georgia border to Orlando in central Florida.
The Florida redistricting case is one of several across the nation that challenge Republican-drawn maps as the GOP tries to keep their slim House majority.
News4JAX political analyst Rick Mulaney of JU’s Public Policy Institute said the fight is not over.
“There’s going to be an appeal to the Florida Supreme Court, and separately, there’s federal court litigation going on. So in 2024, take a look and keep an eye out for how does the state court resolve this? And how does the federal court resolve this?” Mullaney said.
Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland said he would hope a final decision would be in place by May.