Source: Politics<\/p>\n
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2014 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 bid to remake the state\u2019s congressional map was dealt a major setback on Wednesday after a state judge said he would block the plan because of the way it scattered Black voters among several north Florida districts.<\/p>\n
DeSantis personally pushed the GOP-led Legislature to approve the map, which boosts the number of Republican-held seats in the nation\u2019s third-largest state. The map also dismantles the north Florida held by Rep. Al Lawson<\/a> (D-Fla.), a Black Democrat.<\/p>\n The map is facing a legal challenge by a coalition of voting rights and civil rights groups that argues it violates the state\u2019s Fair Districts standards \u2014 voter-approved anti-gerrymandering amendments in the Florida Constitution.<\/p>\n Circuit Judge J. Layne Smith, who DeSantis appointed to the circuit court two years ago, said during a three-hour hearing Wednesday that arguments the map violated the state Constitution were \u201cpersuasive\u201d because it \u201cdiminishes the ability of African Americans to elect candidates of their choice.\u201d He said he intended to put in place a map that would keep Lawson\u2019s district intact.<\/p>\n Smith\u2019s announcement, however, doesn\u2019t settle the issue and is likely the start of a drawn-out legal fight that could eventually wind up before the state Supreme Court, which DeSantis has reshaped with a conservative majority.<\/p>\n Taryn Fenske, a spokesperson for DeSantis, said the state would appeal the ruling once it is formally entered. Smith said he planned to issue a written order as early as Thursday in order to allow the state to move quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Judge Smith implied, these complex constitutional matters of law were always going to be decided at the appellate level,\u201d Fenske said in an email. \u201cWe will undoubtedly be appealing his ruling and are confident the constitutional map enacted by the Florida Legislature and signed into law passes legal muster. We look forward to defending it.\u201d<\/p>\n