Court Rules Florida Remedial Congressional Map Will Not Remain in Place During Appeal

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Jena Doyle
Doyle@redistrictingfoundation.org

Court Rules Florida Remedial Congressional Map Will Not Remain in Place During Appeal

Washington, D.C. — This morning, Florida’s First District Court of Appeals (1DCA) reinstated a stay of a May 12 injunction, issued by a state trial court below, that struck down the DeSantis Map’s configuration of Congressional District 5 in North Florida. The injunction was granted by the trial court after it found that the DeSantis Map diminished the ability of Black voters to elect their preferred candidates, in violation of the Florida Constitution. After the state appealed the injunction to the 1DCA, an automatic stay was triggered, allowing the DeSantis Map to go back into effect. NRF-supported plaintiffs successfully moved to vacate that stay, which the trial court did on May 16, but the 1DCA reinstated the stay today, allowing the DeSantis Map to go back into effect for now, as the case proceeds. 

In response, Marina Jenkins, Director of Litigation and Policy for the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF), released the below statement: 

“The appellate court’s decision to reinstate the DeSantis Map is frustrating and wrong. The trial court correctly found that the DeSantis plan diminishes the voting power of Black Floridians, yet now voters may be forced to vote in elections conducted on the unconstitutional map. It is urgent and necessary that the Florida Supreme Court swiftly consider the merits of the case, uphold the law as it is written, and require the implementation of a new fifth congressional district that would fairly and justly allow Black voters the opportunity to elect representatives of their choosing to Congress in this year’s elections.” 

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