The Florida House Redistricting select committee met for the second time Wednesday.
Conversations around the effort continue to be centered on President Donald Trump pushing Republicans across the country to redraw congressional maps ahead of the midterms. But it’s against Florida’s constitution to create maps for partisan reasons.
Orlando Democratic Representative Bruce Antone asked a redistricting expert presenting to the committee about those perceptions.
“There's been some statements made that if we redraw districts, they are intended to favor a particular party. What are your thoughts on that, as we talk about the potential for redistricting this time around?” he asked.
The chair of the committee, Republican Representative Mike Redondo, shut that question down.
“We're talking about statements by unknown folks and hypotheticals. Let's try and keep it to the presentation if we can, terms of questions,” he said.
The committee has also not allowed public comment so far in either meeting. Abdelilah Skhir, a policy strategist with the ACLU of Florida, said that’s unusual.
“When people travel hours to participate and they aren’t even given a chance to speak, it shatters transparency and trust in this process,” he said.
The House is moving forward with its process even as Governor Ron DeSantis has said he wants to wait for redistricting to happen in the spring.