adminFlorida’s congressional districts court case began last week in a Leon County courtroom. This is the latest episode of a three-year battle that has left the state without political boundaries for the 2016 election. The case is now in court because the Florida Supreme Court threw out the prior maps in July, ruling that GOP operatives had influenced the redistricting process and packed Democratic voters in District 5, a skinny district that snaked from Jacksonville to Orlando.
The Florida Legislature returned to Tallahassee for a special session in August but were unable to agree on a new map. Leon Circuit Judge Terry Lewis will now consider as many as seven proposals for the maps submitted by both chambers of the Legislature, the League of Women Voters, and other plaintiffs. The trial is expected to continue into next week before Lewis makes a final decision and sends the case to the Supreme Court for review by Oct. 17.
Another special session is scheduled for October to redraw State Senate districts. Visit the Orlando Sentinel for more coverage of the redistricting court case.
