Fla. Supreme Court Convenes Once Again To Discuss Redistricting
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/AP) – After months of debate, the Florida Supreme Court once again took up legislative redistricting Friday.
The hearing will focus on the state Senate map that was revised after the justices rejected the Republican-led Legislature's first attempt.
The high court unanimously affirmed the House map, but it ruled 5-2 that the Senate plan violated new anti-gerrymandering standards in part by favoring incumbents and the Republican Party.
Democrats and groups that backed the Fair Districts standards said the revised map still is in violation.
The Legislature said it fixed every flaw cited by the Supreme Court.
A coalition of three Fair Districts groups and the Florida Democratic Party have suggested alternative maps.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which also backed Fair Districts, have submitted a separate challenge.
The case was the first time the high court had been asked to weigh in on redistricting since amendments were placed into the Florida constitution to prevent gerrymandering of districts to favor one party or the other.
Democrats and other groups filed a suit after the plans were released saying the plans violated those constitutional amendments.
Even though the state's registration is evenly split between the two parties, the redistricting would give the GOP a two-to-one majority in both the House and the Senate.
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