Florida congressional districts that eliminated a majority-Black seat upheld by state Supreme Court

Florida's Supreme Court connected Thursday upheld the state's existent legislature redistricting map, rejecting a situation implicit the elimination of a majority-Black territory successful northbound Florida that was pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The court, dominated by DeSantis appointees, ruled that restoration of the territory that antecedently agreed Black communities from Jacksonville to westbound of Tallahassee, oregon crossed 200 miles (322 kilometers), would magnitude to impermissible radical gerrymandering. That, the bulk ruled, violates the Constitution's adjacent extortion guarantees.

“The grounds leaves nary uncertainty that specified a territory would beryllium race-predominant. The grounds besides gives america nary tenable ground to deliberation that further litigation would uncover a perchance viable remedy,” said Chief Justice Carlos Muniz successful the court's bulk opinion.

The determination means Florida's existent legislature districts that springiness Republicans a 20-8 vantage implicit Democrats volition stay successful spot for the 2026 midterm elections and beyond. The erstwhile northbound Florida territory was astir precocious represented by a Black Democrat, erstwhile Rep. Al Lawson. The caller districts disagreement that country among 3 Republicans.

A sheet of 3 national judges antecedently upheld the existent legislature districts.

“This was ever the constitutionally close representation — and present some the national courts and the FL Supreme Court person upheld it,” DeSantis said connected X.

One of the plaintiffs, the National Redistricting Foundation, called the caller ruling “alarming” due to the fact that it “diminishes the voting powerfulness of Black Floridians” by upholding the GOP-drawn map.

“The tribunal is abandoning the astir basal relation of the judiciary: to supply justness for the people,” said Marina Jenkins, enforcement manager of the foundation.

Earlier redistricting efforts by the authorities Legislature included versions of the northbound Florida territory that preserved Black voting power. But aft a veto by DeSantis, the politician pushed done the existent representation that eliminated it.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said 1 occupation for the plaintiffs was they did not suggest a viable alternate representation but lone pointed retired imaginable problems with the existent one.

“It is not capable successful the redistricting discourse for challengers to place a flaw successful an enacted districting program and request that the tribunal nonstop the Legislature backmost to the drafting board," the determination said.

Justice Jorge Labarga was the lone dissenter, contending the suit should beryllium sent backmost to a little tribunal for further proceedings to let the challengers a accidental to nutrient antithetic districts.

“By foreclosing further litigation, the majority’s determination present allows to stay successful spot a legislature redistricting program that is unconstitutional nether the Florida Constitution,” Labarga wrote.