Scott Signs Florida Congressional Redistricting Plan

Tallahassee, FL (AP) -- February 16, 2012 --

Gov. Rick Scott has signed the Republican-controlled Legislature's redistricting plan for Florida's congressional seats.

Scott signed the bill (SB 1174) on Thursday. Its next stop will be a Tallahassee courtroom.

Democrats filed a lawsuit in state court immediately after the Legislature passed the bill on Feb. 9.

Three groups that supported the Fair Districts anti-gerrymandering amendments voters adopted in 2010 say they also plan to sue.

They join the Democrats in alleging the map violates various provisions of the amendments including a ban on intentionally favoring incumbents or political parties.

The Florida Supreme Court is expected to hear similar objections to a separate legislative redistricting plan (SB 1176) that it is reviewing.

The congressional map adds to new districts due to population growth to bring the total to 27.

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Florida Redistricting Plans Get Final Passage

Tallahassee, FL (AP) - Florida's proposed redistricting plan for congressional districts improves on two newly required standards for reshaping the state's political boundaries, but questions remain about others.

The Florida Senate passed the plan on Thursday and sent it to Gov. Rick Scott on a 32-5 vote. The Senate also passed a legislative plan 31-7. It will go to the Florida Supreme Court for review.

An analysis by The Associated Press shows the proposal creates more compact congressional districts and fewer cases of counties split up by district boundaries when compared to the old plan passed a decade ago.

But the map, which adds two seats for a total of 27, leaves a wide split between Democrats and Republicans.

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Statement by Senate Majority Leader Andy Gardiner on Legislature Passing Redistricting Plans

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Senate Majority Leader Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, released the following statement today regarding the Florida Legislature passing Congressional and legislative redistricting plans:

“We can be proud of the process that brought us here today, halfway through session, when we are already taking final action to pass the state’s redistricting plans. Redistricting has been one of the most arduous tasks at hand, and we are pleased that, with bipartisan support, the Congressional and legislative plans will now advance to our state’s Governor and Attorney General for their respective actions.

“Thousands of Floridians voiced their opinions, and we listened, making a conscious effort to follow existing political and geographic boundaries and split significantly fewer cities and counties. The timely passage of these maps is a product of countless hours and the hard work of House and Senate leaders and staff. I thank them for helping this process to be conducted just as it should, with the interest of Floridians and not elections in mind, and think it will serve as an example for years to come.”

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Groups Intend to File Suit Against Congressional Redistricting Map

Tallahassee, FL -- Today the Florida Legislature passed a Congressional redistricting plan that does not comply with the new FairDistricts standards in the Florida Constitution.

If and when the Governor signs the Congressional plan into law, The League of Women Voters of Florida, The National Council of La Raza, Common Cause Florida and four individual plaintiffs will file the attached Complaint in Leon County Circuit Court seeking to invalidate the Legislature's Congressional Reapportionment Plan. The Defendants in the case will be Kurt Browning (Florida's Secretary of State), the Florida Senate and the Florida House of Representatives, as well as their respective leaders, Mike Haridopolos and Dean Cannon.

The Complaint, which is attached above, alleges:

The "FairDistricts Amendments" were intended to prevent partisan and racial gerrymandering, and to protect the traditional redistricting principles of equal population, compactness, contiguity, and respect for political and geographic boundaries. The addition of these redistricting standards to the Florida Constitution was designed to level the political playing field by ensuring equality among all voters and increasing opportunities for all candidates. See Brown v. Sec'y of State of Fla., No. 11-14554 (11th Cir. Jan. 31, 2012).

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The Legislature's Congressional Plan threatens to harm Plaintiffs' right to a fair and neutral redistricting plan, free of political and racial gerrymandering or incumbent protection efforts. It likewise threatens to deny Plaintiffs' right to a redistricting plan that respects the constitutionally required redistricting principles of compactness and respect for political and geographic boundaries.

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The Legislature's Congressional Plan is filled with unconstitutional political gerrymanders intended to favor one political party and certain incumbents, while disfavoring the other political party and other incumbents. The State's intentional and purposeful use of the redistricting process to secure various incumbents' reelection undermines the voters' will and violates the Florida Constitution.

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The Plan suppresses the ability of minorities to participate in Florida's political process by unnecessarily confining their influence to select districts and purposefully keeping them out of others. Under the Legislature's Congressional Plan, districts have been drawn with the intent, and result, of abridging the right of minority voters to participate in Florida's political process, in violation of Article III, Section 20.

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The Plan contains numerous non-compact districts in violation of the Florida Constitution and fails to respect political and geographic boundaries.