Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' effort to create four new Republican House seats got an assist Wednesday from the U.S. Supreme Court — but not the total victory his lawyers had predicted.
- One big question remains: Will the entire state redistricting reform be struck from the books?
Why it matters: Florida lawmakers approved the new GOP-leaning U.S. House seats — despite a state constitutional amendment that bans intentional partisan gerrymandering.
- Democrats and liberal groups plan to sue once DeSantis signs the maps.
Zoom in: The Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais neutered a key provision of the Voting Rights Act and made it harder to defend race-based districts.
- It applied new, stricter requirements to win lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Florida mirrored Section 2's language in its state constitution to protect Black and Hispanic voting power.
- The ruling didn't fully strike down Section 2, and it doesn't address the other section of Florida's law that forbids maps drawn to "favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent."
Between the lines: DeSantis, however, argues the entire amendment is invalid because it was sold as a package that both banned partisan gerrymandering and, in his words, called for racial gerrymandering.
- DeSantis staffer Jason Poreda said he drew the map without considering race but acknowledged "partisan or electoral performance data was a consideration."
- The Florida Supreme Court will likely make the final call.
- DeSantis has a three-layered plan to stall opponents in court before the midterms.
The intrigue: DeSantis' map does not completely eliminate two seats drawn to represent Black voters.
- That may help Republicans politically by concentrating Democratic-leaning Black voters in fewer districts to make surrounding seats more favorable to Republicans.
What they're saying: State Sen. Jen Bradley, a Republican who voted against the bill, said the map rested on "a legal theory that the Supreme Court has not even opined on or heard."
- "I just can't do it," Bradley said in a committee Tuesday. "It's unconstitutional."
Bottom line: The Supreme Court gave DeSantis cover to attack race-conscious districts, but it did not automatically bless a partisan gerrymander in Florida.
