The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday refused to consider challenging a new map of the state’s 28 congressional counties, approved by the Republican state legislature, paving the way for the November election to be based on counties a lower court said reduce the strength of the voice of black residents, in violation of the state constitution.
The court’s two-sentence refusal says it is premature for judges to consider a case to overturn a congressional card, as the case has not yet made its way through the state judiciary, which could take months or years.
The new House card, commissioned personally by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, dismantled a House area held by Representative Al Lawson, an African-American Democrat, and greatly increased Republicans’ chances of taking other rival seats in the House.
Voting groups say the card ignores an amendment to the state constitution approved by voters in 2010, which bans guerrilla mapping and specifically bans the creation of constituencies that reduce the ability of minority voters to choose their candidates.
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