Appeals Court Weighs Florida's Redistricting Plan

TALLAHASSEE — An appeals court Tuesday took up a battle about the constitutionality of a congressional redistricting plan that Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed through the Legislature last year, with some judges appearing skeptical of a challenge filed by voting-rights groups.

The 1st District Court of Appeal heard arguments in the state’s appeal of a ruling by a Leon County circuit judge that the plan violated a 2010 state constitutional amendment that set standards for redistricting.

The case centers on an overhaul of North Florida’s Congressional District 5, which in the past elected Black Democrat Al Lawson. The voting-rights groups and other plaintiffs argue that the overhaul violated part of the constitutional amendment that barred drawing districts that would “diminish” the ability of minorities to “elect representatives of their choice.” The overhaul led to white Republicans getting elected in all North Florida congressional districts in the 2022 elections.