NRF-Supported Plaintiffs Ask FL Supreme Court to Decide Congressional Case in Time for 2024 Election
For Immediate Release
February 1, 2024
Contact
Brooke Lillard
lillard@redistrictingfoundation.org
Washington, D.C. — Today, voters supported by the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF), the 501(c)(3) affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), submitted a request to the Florida Supreme Court asking the court to take up the Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute v. Byrd case against Florida’s congressional map in time for the 2024 election. Specifically, the plaintiffs proposed a schedule that would allow the court to consider the arguments and make a decision before the scheduled candidate filing date of April 26, 2024.
“With a crucial fact roundly agreed upon by both the plaintiffs and the state—that the state diminished the voting power of Black voters in Florida’s 5th Congressional District when it passed the map—as well as clear law and precedent that such diminishment violates the state constitution, the Florida Supreme Court has all it needs to move on this case in an expedited manner,” said Marina Jenkins, Executive Director of the NRF. “For too long, citizens have been denied their right to equal representation and forced to vote on a discriminatory DeSantis-drawn congressional map. The restoration of that right is an urgent matter that must be addressed in time for the 2024 election.”
Additional Background:
In response to an earlier request by the NRF-supported plaintiffs, the Florida Supreme Court recently agreed to take up Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute v. Byrd. A decision by the Florida Supreme Court could overturn a decision by an appeals court that kept the congressional map in place. Initially, a Florida trial court sided with the plaintiffs, ruling that Florida’s congressional map violates Article III, § 20 of the Florida Constitution, commonly known as the Fair Districts Amendment. Leading up to the trial, the case against Florida’s congressional map was strengthened by an agreement between the parties to the litigation. The NRF initiated this legal challenge in 2022 and remains involved in the case supporting the plaintiffs.
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