State asks high court to ignore redistricting challenge

TALLAHASSEE — The state has urged the Florida Supreme Court to decline to take up a challenge to the constitutionality of a congressional redistricting plan that Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed through the Legislature in 2022.

Attorneys for Secretary of State Cord Byrd and the Legislature, in filings late Friday, said the Supreme Court should let stand a Dec. 1 ruling by the 1st District Court of Appeal that backed the plan. The filings also pointed to a time crunch as the legislative session starts next week and the 2024 elections near.

“The First District’s decision is correct, these facts (in the case) are unlikely to recur, and review at this late stage would leave state election officials uncertain as they prepare for the 2024 primaries,” attorneys for Byrd, the state’s chief elections official, wrote.

Voting-rights groups and other plaintiffs last month asked the Supreme Court to take up the case, which centers on a North Florida district that in the past elected Black Democrat Al Lawson but was overhauled during an April 2022 special legislative session. The overhaul put Congressional District 5 in the Jacksonville area, and white Republicans won all North Florida congressional seats in the November 2022 elections.

The plaintiffs argued the overhaul violated part of a 2010 constitutional amendment, known as the Fair Districts Amendment, that barred drawing districts that would “diminish” the ability of minorities to elect representatives of their choice. While a Leon County circuit judge agreed with the plaintiffs, the 1st District Court of Appeal overturned that decision and ruled in favor of the state.

In a Dec. 13 brief asking the Supreme Court to hear the case, justices were asked to “decide this appeal no later than March 2024 such that a remedy, if necessary, may be implemented in time for the 2024 elections.” If the Supreme Court finds the plan unconstitutional, it likely would require the Legislature to redraw congressional districts.

If the Supreme Court decides to take up the case, both sides would file more detailed briefs and possibly appear before the court for arguments. The candidate-qualifying period for 2024 congressional races is scheduled from April 22 to April 26.

A separate challenge to the redistricting plan is pending in federal court. That case involves federal constitutional issues.