Despite lingering questions about the constitutionality of Florida’s new voting district maps, Officials say they expect all the of the maps to stay the way they are for the 2012 election cycle.
Last Friday the Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor the Senate’s second try at drawing a set of voting district maps. That ruling was followed by two other major decisions this week: The Department of Justice granted pre-clearance to all three maps, finding they did not violate the federal anti-discrimination laws, and a Tallahassee Circuit Court Judge ruled that the state’s new congressional map would stand until a full trial on its constitutionality could be held. Pamela Goodman is the Vice President of the Florida Chapter of the League of Women Voters—0ne of the groups that’s been active in challenging the maps.
“We’re not pleased with all of the Senate districts that the Supreme Court approved. We do believe that some of them are in violation of amendments five and six and the standards set forth in those and the constitution. But, a Supreme Court ruling is pretty final,” Goodman said.
She called the high court decision on the State Senate maps a little disheartening, but said Tallahassee Circuit Judge Terry Lewis’s ruling on the congressional map, which doesn’t automatically get reviewed by the state supreme court, is better news. Lewis validated the congressional map for the coming election, but said he’d like the issue to go to trial so he can hear testimony and see evidence that will let him better judge the constitutionality of the map. But Goodman the trial isn’t likely to happen until after the November elections.
“And we talked about that in the summer hearings, move up the timeline, move up the timeline, where are the maps—specifically the congressional maps. If they had done that we would have had plenty of time for those maps to go through the judicial process,” Goodman said.
The state constitution required lawmakers to draw the state House and Senate maps during the 2012 session, but didn’t put the same limitations on the congressional maps, and Goodman said the League thinks lawmakers should have started that process earlier. But Florida leaders like Senate President Mike Haridopolos have said the state’s redistricting processes was completed in “record time.”
Goodman said the league is considering all of their legal options moving forward. And Florida Democratic Party spokesman, David Bergstein, said his organization is looking into the possibility of legal action as well.
“We remain concerned about elements of the map and we will continue to evaluate our legal options moving forward. We have and will always be on the side of Florida voters in calling for fairness, transparency and accountability from Florida’s elected officials,” Bergstein said.
The qualifying period for federal and state candidates begins June 4 and ends June 8, and really serves as the last deadline for making changes to the maps before November.
