The Florida Supreme Court approved a sweeping overhaul of the state’s congressional districts on Wednesday that slightly changes U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy’s Treasure Coast district.
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The new map of 27 congressional districts should produce more competitive districts and a more balanced delegation that better reflects the state’s divided electorate.
While Canady agreed with part of the decision, Polston disagreed with the entire ruling as adopting a plan drawn by “Democratic operatives” and chastised the court for violating the separation of power clause of the U.S. Constitution. The court had ruled in May that slot machines were allowed because Gadsden County voters approved a referendum authorizing them.
Slot machines are now limited to South Florida tracks and casinos run by the Seminole tribe.
The map ended up in Lewis’ court after the House and Senate failed to agree on a congressional plan during an August special session.
Jolly opted not to seek re-election in a district now unfavorable to Republicans and is running for the U.S. Senate.
King also said the he thought the congressional ruling would shape Leon County Circuit Judge George Reynold’s approach to similar issues involving minority districts and how boundaries affect the state’s partisan balance when the Senate trial begins later this month.
The new congressional map is more of a mixed bag for Hillsborough, which is carved into four districts and likely will have only one member of Congress calling the county home.
The ruling means a set of districts in South Florida crafted by a coalition of voting-rights groups will be used in the map over the next three elections.
But the new map is also expected to make it easier for former Gov. Charlie Crist to win election as a Democrat in a reconfigured seat in the Tampa Bay area. The legislature has tried since then to draw new maps.
In Central Florida, the changes will move the African-American minority-majority District 5, the seat now held by Brown, out of the region and into North Florida.
Republican leaders say the so-called Fair Districts amendments have made the once-a-decade process of redistricting unworkable – with lawmakers and the coalition fighting since 2012 over the maps at a cost to taxpayers of $11 million.
But the new map could quickly come under further legal attack. The July ruling ordered lawmakers to draw an east-west configuration and Wednesday’s ruling commended them for complying.
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Toward the end of her 84-page majority decision, Pariente wrote that it was important for the congressional case to conclude because, “We have an additional obligation to provide certainty to candidates and voters regarding the legality of the state’s congressional districts”.
