Court upholds Florida’s congressional map, reversing lower decision

TALLAHSSEE, Fla. – The First District Court of Appeals upheld Florida’s congressional map after a prior court struck it down over concerns about violating racial representation requirements as outlined in Florida law.

It said that the prior decision striking down the new map falsely placed “a racial segregation mandate” into Florida’s constitution.

In the prior ruling, Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh declared the map reduces the ability of Black voters to pick a representative of their choice in North Florida.

In Friday’s ruling, the court ruled that the prior decision ran contradictory to the Florida Constitution.

“The constitution cannot demand that all voters are treated equally without regard to race and at the same time demand that voters are treated differently based on race,” the ruling said.

The new map got rid of a minority district that spanned a large portion of the northern part of the state.

“The districts cannot be drawn to diminish an individual racial-minority-voter’s ability to elect a representative of choice as compared to an individual non-racial minority-voter,” the ruling said. “This is ultimately accomplished by ensuring all voters are treated equally without regard to race.”

The court concluded that the equal protection language in the Florida Constitution contains an “express prohibition on the consideration of race.”

“We are therefore correct to reverse the final order and remand to the trial court,” it said.

The case is between Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd and the Florida Legislature, and a variety of activists and activist organizations like Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute and the League of Women Voters of Florida.

Gov. Ron DeSantis was previously criticized for drawing the new map that essentially erased former Democratic Rep. Al Lawson’s district. The map carved up Lawson’s House District 5, resultingly shifting them into more conservative areas. The district encompassed Jacksonville to Tallahassee along with Florida’s northern border with Georgia.

DeSantis originally vetoed a map in 2022 that the Republican controlled chambers passed, calling it “unlawful.”

The map then eliminated two districts, Districts 5 and District 10, that were drawn in favor of minority voters. Therefore, the map was configured to ultimately give Republicans 20 supportive districts.

At the time, Republicans argued the map was constitutional and avoided any racial gerrymandering.

Democrats argued it disenfranchised Black voters and violated the Fair District amendment Florida voters passed back 2010.