Florida group asks judge to reject changes to congressional districts News
Florida group asks judge to reject changes to congressional districts

[JURIST] A Florida coalition on Monday asked a judge to reject a newly proposed map of the state’s congressional districts. The coalition, which includes the League of Women Voters of Florida [advocacy website], is suing [AP report] to change the districts and called the new map “brazenly partisan.” The map was passed by the Florida Legislature last week after Judge Terry Lewis ruled [JURIST report] that the state’s congressional redistricting plan from 2012 illegally favored Republicans. The coalition believes that the new plan will not provide a solution to this issue and has called on Lewis to reject it. The map changes [CBS Miami/AP report] seven of the state’s congressional districts, shifting nearly 400,000 voters. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Wednesday.

Redistricting [JURIST backgrounder] plans are controversial throughout the US, with numerous states’ plans facing court challenges. In June the US Supreme Court agreed to hear [JURIST report] two cases challenging Alabama’s redistricting plans. In January the Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision in the case of Kostick v. Nago without issuing an opinion, upholding [JURIST report] the Hawaii state legislature’s redistricting plan. In September a three-judge panel for the US District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled that the Obama administration would be allowed to join [JURIST report] the ongoing challenge to Texas’ voter redistricting maps.