Florida Voters File Impasse Lawsuit with Support of National Redistricting Foundation

Washington, D.C. – In a petition to the Circuit Court of Leon County filed today, voters supported by the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF) filed a lawsuit asking the court to step in to draw the state’s new congressional districts.

The current state of the redistricting process has made it evident that the legislature and Governor DeSantis are incapable of reaching a consensus on a new congressional district plan. Also known as “impasse litigation,” NRF-supported plaintiffs are asking the court to establish a process to ensure that new congressional districts are in place ahead of the 2022 elections.

“As a result of legislative deadlock, the congressional redistricting process in Florida has reached an impasse, and it is now up to the court to step in and produce a map that complies with the fundamental principle of one person, one vote,” said Eric H. Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States. “The Republican-led legislature has dragged the redistricting process on for months while simultaneously severely limiting public engagement. Governor DeSantis has vowed to veto the already deeply flawed maps produced by this arrogant process because they were not - remarkably - gerrymandered enough! Florida voters deserve more than politically motivated games – they deserve a fair congressional map.” 

“Florida’s political branches are failing the voters of their state and the court must now protect voters’ rights by stepping in to provide a remedial congressional plan based on the 2020 Census data. The new map should accurately reflect the will of the people, keep communities of interest together, and protect the voting power of communities of color,” continued Holder. 

In February 2022, Governor DeSantis petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to issue an advisory opinion in support of his claim that the existing configuration of CD-5 is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander—an invitation the court declined to accept. Still, Governor DeSantis vowed that he “will not be signing any congressional map that has” the new configuration of CD-5 proposed by the legislature. On February 28, he made this clear again, stating, “I’ve said very clearly that I will veto maps that include some of these unconstitutional districts. And that is a guarantee…” And he said so again on March 4, while the Florida House of Representatives debated the state's congressional plan: “I will veto the congressional reapportionment plan currently being debated by the House.” The House and Senate approved that same congressional plan only hours later. 

The 2020 Census showed that Florida’s congressional districts are no longer balanced to meet the one-person, one-vote requirement and that the state would be allocated an additional seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Given the legislative impasse, plaintiffs are requesting that the court intervene to protect the constitutional rights of the plaintiffs and voters across the state. 

You can view the full petition here.

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Contact: Jena Doyle | doyle@redistrictingfoundation.org