Voting groups want primaries pushed back to redraw state’s congressional map, judge is ‘skeptical.’ (Photo via MyFloridaHouse.gov)
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
The Florida League of Women Voters and others asked Leon County Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis to push back August primaries in Florida, so the state’s congressional map can be redrawn. However, this week, Lewis informed the plaintiffs that he was “extremely skeptical” of that plan.
At the end of a hearing [Thursday] in Tallahassee, the state court judge said he was unsure if he has the resources to adopt a new map, or if he has the legal authority to delay elections as suggested by groups that challenged existing districts.
“I’m extremely skeptical I can do what the plaintiffs want me to do,” Lewis said. He told attorneys that he would seek to issue a ruling by the end of next week. The state’s primary election takes place Aug. 26.
Earlier this month, Lewis ruled the Florida Legislature broke state laws when drawing up congressional districts in 2012. According to Lewis, lawmakers facilitated a “secret, organized campaign” wherein partisan political operatives influenced the redistricting process in violation of the Fair Districts Amendments, which mandates the state draw districts without political party favoritism.
GOP leaders in the Legislature agreed they would not appeal the decision. However, there have been disputes over who will redraw the map, as well as the timing for the new map. The voting groups, which filed the lawsuit alleging lawmakers violated Fair Districts, asked Lewis “to redraw the map himself or hire a redistricting expert to do it for the court before the elections or the election will be invalid,” The Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times reported.
“Logistically, it is going to be very difficult to get a map drawn within a reasonable amount of time,” Lewis said, adding that he wasn’t sure if he had the power to reconfigure the districts or delay federal elections.
He said he would rule on the matter next week.
…The coalition — along with several left-leaning voters who also challenged the map — pressed the court to intervene.
“The choice is, do we proceed with an unconstitutional election or do we go through the admittedly challenging process of getting a new map in place?” said John Devaney, an attorney representing the individual voters. “The preference here is obviously not to have another unconstitutional election.”
However, an attorney for the Legislature, George Meros, told Lewis lawmakers were up to the task of promptly redrawing new districts. Meros argued it would only take a few weeks.
According to the Herald/Times:
Attorneys for the Legislature argued that a delay would cause “chaos, confusion [and] uncertainty” because campaigns had begun and some ballots have been printed.
Meros raised specific concerns about members of the military serving abroad.
“There have been almost 2,000 votes that have already been cast by our soldiers overseas in this primary election,” he said. “[The plaintiffs] want those votes to be wiped out.”
The plaintiffs in the case argued it would be inappropriate to have the same lawmakers who improperly drew the first map redraw the new one. The voting groups also submitted their own map to the judge, which the Legislature’s attorneys argued benefit the Democratic Party.