ORLANDO, Fla. — The state of Florida and voter rights organizations are meeting in federal court Tuesday for the first day of the trial challenging Gov. Ron Desantis’ decision to redraw congressional maps.

The outcome could affect the U.S. House in the 2024 election.

A group of three federal judges began hearing claims from plaintiffs suggesting DeSantis’ decision to redraw the maps were racially discriminatory and that it violated the 14th and 15th amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

What You Need To Know

  • Trial begins Tuesday morning for plaintiffs and Florida voter rights organizations that are challenging Gov. DeSantis' decision to redraw congressional maps.

  • The maps were redrawn and approved in 2022, and resulted in District 5, which spanned from Jacksonville to Gadsden County to be condensed. 
  • The redrawn map also caused Democratic Rep. Al Lawson to have to rerun for his seat under a new district, where he lost that position to Republican Rep. Neal Dunn.

  • Plaintiffs in the case claim the redrawn maps are racially discriminatory, and it violates the 14th and 15th amendment, preventing Black voters from being able to elect representation of their choosing.

In 2022, the Republican–controlled Florida House approved a new congressional map which was backed by DeSantis.

A redistricting map sits on the desk of Sen. Annette Taddeo, D-Miami as debate on amendments to Senate Bill 2-C: Establishing the Congressional Districts of the State goes on during an evening meeting of the Senate Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. Taddeo chose to boycott the special session. The Florida special session to address new district lines continues Wednesday. (AP Photo/Phil Sears)

The approval came just before the November election and subsequently led to Democratic Rep. Al Lawson’s district being dismantled. Lawson ran for his seat in the redrawn congressional district, losing to Republican Rep. Neal Dunn. 

Representatives for Common Cause Florida, which is part of the lawsuit, claim the redistricting “marks the first time in 30 years a Black opportunity district was eliminated, robbing Black voters in North Florida of the opportunity to select a candidate of their choice,” they stated in a press release.

"It was unprecedented the government's involvement in this process," Common Cause Program Director Amy Keith said. "Initially, the Legislature did put forward maps thar complied with both federal and state law, but what we are looking at now is a map that violates both."

Several organizations like the NAACP, along with other plaintiffs joining in on the lawsuit, claim that the newly drawn maps would “diminish the state’s Black representation in the U.S. House.”

However, the attorneys for Secretary of State Cord Byrd, who is a defendant in the case, called the maps “race-neutral” saying, “there’s a complete lack of direct evidence of discriminatory intent in passing the enacted map.”

The attorneys also said, “In fact, the governor and Florida Legislature went to great lengths in explaining how they weren’t motivated by discriminatory intent and that the enacted map didn’t even consider race in forming district lines.”

They said the map prioritized geography and compactness. 

The district in question here is congressional district 5, which spanned 200 miles across Tallahassee into Jacksonville. 

The state says those boundaries don’t make any sense.

Lawmakers in 2022 fought with the governor over the district. The governor even vetoed two other maps before they accepted his.

The trial could last up to two weeks.