TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida's First District Court of Appeals has reversed a previous decision made by a Leon County judge who ruled that Florida’s redistricting plan under Gov. Ron DeSantis overstepped the state constitution.

In particular, critics argue the map violates a provision in Florida's Constitution that prohibits actions that “diminish” the ability of minorities to “elect the representatives of their choice.”

What You Need To Know

  • An appeals court ruled new district lines constitutional after a Leon County judge blocked the district lines created after the 2020 census
  • The case focuses on a deconstructed North Florida District

  • Critics say the minority-majority district is legally protected

  • In making the changes, the state argues the original district was racially gerrymandered

As a result of the appellate decision, the court ruled that the redrawn congressional maps for District 5 were constitutional. This decision upholds the maps drawn by DeSantis that shrunk the overall size of the district. 

Challengers to the new district lines say the map diminishes the state's Black representation in the U.S. House. 

Attorneys for the state resisted that argument, arguing that Florida’s new map as a correction of the previous map. The original map, they claimed, violated the Equal Protection Clause under the U.S. Constitution by carving out a district that caters to minority candidates.

The district in question, Congressional District 5, spans more than 200 miles from Jacksonville to Tallahassee. The Equal Protection Clause, meanwhile, provides citizens equal protection under the law. It says no state shall enforce laws that “abridge the privileges or immunities” of citizens.

“The plaintiffs here seek to invalidate the state’s race-neutral map in North Florida and replace it with one that contains a district guaranteeing that Black-preferred candidates always win,” argued Florida Solicitor General Henry Whitaker, who defended the latest map.

Plaintiffs in the case include Black Voters Matter, Florida Rising and the League of Women Voters, among others. Attorney Jyoti Jasrasaria, who represents the plaintiffs, argued that the new map is illegal, saying it harms minority voters and violates state protections.

Former Congressman Al Lawson, a Black longtime Democratic lawmaker, held the CD 5 seat until the latest redistricting map. Lawson lost reelection in 2022 after lawmakers dismantled the district, ending a decades-long political career in the region.

“Showing that the minority group is cohesive, and that there is racially polarized voting, and that the minority group’s candidates are able to win in primary and general elections — that’s enough to protect a district,” said Jasrasaria of the CD 5 district. “There’s no dispute that those factors are being met.”

The state and plaintiffs have requested that the court render a decision by late November. Regardless of the ruling, the case is expected to get appealed upward to the Florida Supreme Court. The congressional map, meanwhile, is also under review in federal court.