JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville’s political makeup remains in the air as city leaders await a judge’s decision on a redrawn redistricting map, which is scheduled to happen Monday.
With residents heading to the polls in March to elect new city leaders, there’s still no word on how Jacksonville City Council and school districts will be divided.
The city’s redistricting plan is still in court awaiting the judge’s decision -- a decision that will have a huge impact on whether Jacksonville’s political makeup leans Republican or Democrat.
Many organizations have spoken out against the proposed redrawn maps citing that boundary lines were drawn unconstitutionally and favor one political party or race over the other.
In October, the NAACP, ACLU and the Northside Coalition sued the city and proposed three new maps and won.
Now, the judge is working to try to get both sides to create a map that does not use race as a factor in determining the boundaries.
All parties have until Dec. 28 to finalize a map that both sides can agree on and that does not use race as a factor in determining the boundaries. However, no consensus has been made and time is running out as the deadline vastly approaches.
Since city elections are on March 23, the Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan was hoping they would have received information on the judge’s decision by now.
“I am waiting on information from the city attorney on the judge’s decision. My role on the lawsuit is just an administrative issues. My office did not draw the lines,” Hogan said.
The Supervisor of Elections office is affected by the judge’s decision as well because it has to meet a specific election deadline to print the ballots to mail and provide information on who will be voting in what district.
Plus, new voting cards may have to be mailed out and some candidates may not know which area they could represent.
No matter the outcome, the city election will still take place and Hogan has emphasized in the past that his office will do whatever the judge orders.
A statement from the judge reads: