Appeals court takes DeSantis' side in challenge to a map that helped unseat a Black congressman

Appellate judges overrule court ruling and uphold Florida's congressional map

The Florida First District Court of Appeal reversed a lower court ruling and upheld a congressional map signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. A majority of appellate judges struck down a September ruling by Leon Circuit Judge Lee Marsh that the congressional map effectively diminished the ability of minority communities to elect a congressional representative of their choice in North Florida by dismantling a district that spanned from Tallahassee to Jack…

US appeals court upholds Florida congressional map, reversing lower court ruling

Ben Frazier, president of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, shown in multiple video screens, speaks to the Jacksonville City Council in Jacksonville, Fla., Jan. 18, 2023. A protracted legal fight over how city council districts were drawn in Jacksonville, Florida, reflects an aspect of redistricting that often remains in the shadows. Political map-drawing for congressional and state legislative seats captures wide attention after new cens…

Florida Appeals Court Upholds DeSantis-Drawn Congressional Map

A Florida appeals court on Friday upheld the state’s congressional redistricting map advocated by Gov. Ron DeSantis, rejecting a lower court ruling that it was unconstitutional. The 8–2 decision by Florida’s First District Court of Appeal reversed a lower court ruling in September, which found that the new map had improperly diluted black voting power. The appeals court judges, in a main opinion and three concurring opinions, said the lower cour…

Florida appeals court upholds DeSantis-backed congressional map

By Brad Brooks (Reuters) - A Florida appeals court on Friday upheld the state's congressional map backed by Governor Ron DeSantis that a lower court had ruled violated the state constitution by diminishing some Black residents' voting power. A state judge in September ruled that the map redrawn in 2020 illegally shredded the 5th Congressional District, which had been a strongly Black district in north Florida. The new map resulted in the inc…

Florida appeals court upholds DeSantis-backed congressional map

Florida appeals court upholds DeSantis-backed congressional map A Florida appeals court on Friday upheld the state's congressional map backed by Governor Ron DeSantis that a lower court had ruled violated the state constitution by diminishing some Black residents' voting power.A state judge in September ruled that the map redrawn in 2020 illegally shredded the 5th Congressional District, which had been a strongly Black district in north Florida…

Appeals court takes DeSantis' side in challenge to map that helped unseat Black congressman

The Florida Legislature didn't violate the state constitution when it approved congressional maps pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that helped the GOP replace a Black Democratic representative with a white conservative, an appeals court ruled Friday.The 1st District Court of Appeal reversed a lower court's ruling that the map that rewrote U.S. Rep. Alan Lawson's district was unconstitutional because it diminished Black voters' ability to e…