by Joseph Weber
A Florida judge this weekend struck down a congressional map approved by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, ruling it diluted minority voting power in the region, making it “unconstitutional.”
The Saturday decision by Circuit Court Judge J. Lee Marsh began, “This case is about whether the Legislature, in enacting its most recent congressional redistricting plan, violated the Florida Constitution by diminishing the ability of Black voters in North Florida to elect representatives of their choice. It is also about whether that provision of the Florida Constitution violates the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In short, the answers are yes and no, respectively. For those reasons, this Court will declare the enacted map unconstitutional and enjoin the Secretary of State from using that map in future congressional elections. This Court will return the matter to the Legislature to enact a new map which complies with the Florida Constitution.”
At issue are a group of districts in the northern part of the Sunshine State that comprise the eastern part of the Florida panhandle.
The map struck down affected the House seat that was formerly held by Rep. Al Lawson (pictured above), a black Democrat, according to the Epoch Times.
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Joseph Weber is an editor at Just the News.
