Republican-led efforts to dismantle Black voting power in Florida may have to contend with a new round of legal challenges to overturn a key ruling over redistricting congressional maps.
Changes to Florida’s congressional districts, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday, are already facing a legal challenge initiated by the League of Women Voters of Florida, Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute and several additional plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit April 22 contending the redistricting plan does not abide by existing laws (Amendment 6, the 2010 “Fair Districts” amendment to the state constitution.) The new congressional maps would chop the existing four Black congressional seats held by Democrats down to two.
The latest legal challenges come on the heels of a protest April 21 at the state legislature by Black congressional leaders who say the redistricting efforts threaten their seats, and divide the Black vote, diminishing Black voting power.
Against a backdrop of supporters, the Black congressional leaders held prayer and sang “We Shall Overcome.”
Florida Republicans later claimed the protest was worse than the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection on Capitol Hill.
With lawsuits pending — and more likely ahead of the congressional primaries in August — state officials are scrambling to not only overturn the redistricting efforts, but educate voters who may be confused about how to vote with all of the last-minute changes.
In the meantime, the Black vote hangs in the balance.