A state appeals court has upheld Gov. Ron DeSantis’ removal of North Florida’s only congressional district where Black voters could elect their candidate of choice.
The decision reversed a lower court ruling that found the map unconstitutional.
Eight judges of the state’s First District Court of Appeal supported reversing a lower court’s order for lawmakers to reinstate an African-American performing district in the region.
DeSantis last year signed into law a map proposed by his office that eliminated the former Congressional District 5. The district stretched from Gadsden County to eastern Duval County and was held by former Democratic Congressman Al Lawson.
Two appeals court judges disagreed with the majority, writing that the district’s removal violated a state constitutional amendment that prohibits diminishing a minority group’s ability to elect their candidate of choice.
The court’s majority argued that plaintiffs suing over the map failed to prove that the former District 5 was a protected minority access district under federal law.
The appeals court ruling means the region’s current congressional district lines will remain in place, but the Florida Supreme Court could overturn that decision if it takes up the case.
