A federal court upheld Florida‘s congressional map, which was championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), rejecting claims that district lines were racially gerrymandered.
The three-judge panel on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida sided with the state after it eliminated a previous black-majority district that stretched across much of the length of the northern part of the state. The changes were part of a map that gave Republicans a significant advantage for the congressional delegation, and the judges agreed the changes were not racially motivated.
“Whatever might be said about the Legislature’s decision to give up the fight for preserving a Black-performing district in North Florida, it did not amount to ratification of racial animus in violation of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments,” the opinion said. “There being no evidence of discriminatory purpose on the part of the Florida Legislature, the plaintiffs’ vote dilution claims fail.”
“The plaintiffs have not proven that the Legislature acted with race as a motivating factor in passing the Enacted Map. Accordingly, the plaintiffs’ intentional vote dilution claims fail under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments,” the ruling continued.
Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd said the decision was “vindication” of the maps and that he was “very pleased” with the court’s ruling.
“This decision is vindication that Florida’s redistricting maps comply with Florida law and the U.S. Constitution,” Byrd said in a statement on Thursday. “We are very pleased with the outcome of this effort.”
The Republican-controlled state legislature had originally passed a map that maintained the black-majority district, created after a court order in 2015, for the redistricting process based on 2020 census results. However, DeSantis vetoed the map and encouraged the legislature to pass his proposed map, which eliminated the district — among other GOP-friendly changes.
The legislature passed DeSantis’s map, and there have been several legal challenges in state and federal court over how the maps were drawn. The maps have withstood nearly every legal challenge — barring a state court decision in September 2023, which was later overturned by an appellate court.
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The current congressional map gives Republicans a 20-8 advantage in the Sunshine State’s congressional delegation.
The ruling came a day before a federal court ruled that the current South Carolina congressional map may remain in place for the 2024 election, as the Supreme Court has yet to rule on its constitutionality. The Thursday decision means Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R-SC) district will likely stay with Republicans in November.