LEON COUNTY, Fla. — Three separate lawsuits have been filed against Florida’s congressional redistricting map by Central Florida voting rights groups and individual voters.
They argue the new map was drawn to illegally favor the Republican Party, potentially shifting the state’s U.S. House delegation to a 24 to four GOP majority.
The plaintiffs are asking Judge Joshua Hawkes to issue a temporary injunction to strike down the new map. They contend the redistricting violates Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment, which prohibits partisan gerrymandering in legislative boundaries.
Attorney Simone Leeper, representing the plaintiffs, argues the maps were drawn to favor the Republican Party. Leeper stated the redistricting is “in violation of Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment banning partisan gerrymandering.” Attorneys representing Gov. Ron DeSantis claim there was no partisan intent in the map drawing.
This assertion comes even though partisan data was used in creating the new districts.
If the new maps are invalidated, Orange County’s elections office estimates a cost of approximately $300,000 in new voter information cards to residents.
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