The Florida Legislature has yet again failed to reach an agreement on a key political map. Now the question of how to draw the state’s 40 Senate districts heads to court.
What connects Republican senators from Miami, the Panhandle, and the Tampa Bay area? They’re unhappy with proposed set of new districts.
Sen. Greg Evers (R-Baker) says that map would be bad for rural voters like his north Florida constituents.
Speaking of how his town would’ve been split Evers said, “I know in other areas, we couldn’t cross a river, but in that particular area, we could cross a river.”
“So it sort of makes it confusing,” Evers went on, “In fact, it’s about as clear as mud.”
Just ahead of the vote it was pretty clear the proposal was going down, but Redistricting Chair Sen. Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton) did his level best to bail out a sinking ship.
“Being reasonable, and looking at the big picture and reminding ourselves of where we are, and what we are truly trying to accomplish here, I think that you might reconsider and support this conference report,” Galvano said.
But Galvano was only able to draw 15 votes to his side. The matter was always headed to court for final approval, but as they did with the congressional map, lawmakers will come before the judge without a consensus proposal.
