Voting Rights Groups Urge Appeals Court to Uphold Dismissal of DeSantis Redistricting Plan

Voting rights groups in Florida are asking an appeals court to uphold a ruling that deemed Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' congressional redistricting plan unconstitutional.

As the court gears up to hear arguments in the case next week, attorneys for the groups filed an 86-page brief to the 1st District Court of Appeal urging them to keep the ruling that overhauled the newest redistricting effort in the Sunshine State.

In September, Leon County Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh ruled that the maps backed by DeSantis to overhaul Congressional District 5 violated a state constitutional amendment from 2010 that barred crafting districts that “diminish” the ability of minorities to “elect representatives of their choice.”

The district is known for having elected Black Democrat Al Lawson.

But attorneys representing the proposed plan argue that "respects traditional political boundaries."

"The enacted plan is compact, contiguous, and equalized, and it respects traditional political boundaries  while maintaining communities of interest," they said in a brief. "Most important, it was drawn without considering race, which resulted in eliminating the racially gerrymandered versions of CD-5 (Congressional District 5)."

Attorneys on both sides have requested that the court maker a ruling by Nov. 22 so that lawmakers can draft a new congressional map for the January legislative session if necessary.