SLAY THE DRAGON follows everyday people, outraged by what they see as an attack on the core democratic principle that every person’s vote should count equally. This election year, we’re joining together with grassroots partners to put an end to gerrymandering. Because this issue impacts each state differently, we’ve created a map to help you navigate how gerrymandering affects your state and community. SLAY THE DRAGON arrives on demand April 3.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
SLAY THE DRAGON follows everyday people, outraged by what they see as an attack on the core democratic principle that every person’s vote should count equally. This election year, we’re joining together with grassroots partners to put an end to gerrymandering. Because this issue impacts each state differently, we’ve created a map to help you navigate how gerrymandering affects your state and community. SLAY THE DRAGON arrives on demand April 3.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
What’s going on in Florida
Process
State Legislative Districts
Florida's state legislative districts are drawn by the Legislature by joint resolution, which are not subject to the Governor's veto. Within 15 days, these plans are sent to the state Supreme Court to ensure that they meet the state's redistricting standards. If they do not, the Legislature gets a second chance to draw plans. If the state Supreme Court again finds that the plans are invalid, the Court will have 60 days to draw its own maps.
Congressional Districts
Florida's congressional districts are drawn by the Legislature by ordinary statute, and are subject to the Governor's veto. The Legislature can override vetoes with a two-thirds vote in each chamber.
Criteria
In addition to the federal requirements of one person, one vote and the Voting Rights Act, Florida’s state constitution (Art. III §§ 20, 21) requires that state legislative and congressional districts be compact, contiguous, and preserve political subdivisions. As a result of the Fair Districts Amendments, intentionally favoring or disfavoring an incumbent or political party is also prohibited. The Amendments also codified Voting Rights Act-type language into the Florida Constitution.
Public Input
While Florida law does not require public hearings, the state held such hearings between June 20 and August 31 in 2011. Additionally, the state accepted public map submissions, providing free online redistricting software and data; overall, 153 public maps were submitted. It is plausible that there will be similar opportunities for public input in 2021.
One note of caution is that there was considerable frustration and controversy over the public hearings in 2011, as residents complained that lawmakers were distracted or uninterested in their testimony. There were also concerns that opponents to the redistricting process were driven by partisanship, rather than genuine civic engagement.
Issues
Pitfalls
Despite constitutional prohibitions, unified party control of Florida's government may lead to an increased risk of partisan and racial gerrymandering. In the 2011 redistricting cycle, the principal avenue for fair districts in Florida was the state Supreme Court. In 2021, however, the Court’s composition will be very different.
Additionally, this will be Florida’s first cycle without the protections of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which was struck down in the 2013 Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder. In the absence of preclearance requirements for communities of color, and given Florida’s history with gerrymandering, observers should closely monitor every step of the redistricting process to ensure fair treatment for all.
Congressional Seats
Based upon a recent estimate of congressional seat changes following the 2020 census, Florida is estimated to gain two congressional seats.
Census Delays
- State legislative redistricting plan deadline: end of regular session in 2022; March 12, 2022 (Art. III § 16)
- Congressional redistricting plan deadline: no statutory deadline
The Census Bureau may delay sending population data to states until as late as July 31, 2021. As Florida has a late deadline for state legislative redistricting and no statutory deadline for congressional redistricting, the data delay should have little to no impact.
Reform
Senate Bill 252 was introduced in 2020 to expand public access to draft plans by revising a section of Florida’s public records law. The bill was indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration in March.
History
There was a significant amount of litigation in the 2011 redistricting cycle.
- In re 2012 Joint Resolution of Apportionment was the first case under the Fair Districts Amendments. The state Supreme Court ordered that eight state Senate districts be redrawn because of inferred partisan intent. A few weeks later, the Legislature adopted a new Senate plan that was upheld by the Court.
- In League of Women Voters of Florida v. Detzner (2015), plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of the state Senate plan, alleging partisan intent, incumbent protection, and minority packing. The state Supreme Court ordered eight districts to be redrawn, finding five showed partisan intent and three were noncompact or failed to follow traditional boundaries. The Legislature failed to enact a remedial plan, so in late 2015, the Court approved a map that had been adopted by the trial court.
Actions
In 2020, support state legislative candidates who favor fair districting.
- Flipping one of the state legislative chambers to create split control over the process likely presents the best opportunity for reform.
- This can be done by changing 14 state House seats. The win margins in the 14 closest Republican-won seats in 2018 averaged about 2,100 votes.
In 2021, participate in the Legislature’s public input process.
- Obtain Florida redistricting data from OpenPrecincts.
- Start to plan out what defines your community – whether it’s a shared economic interest, school districts, or other social or other cultural, historical, or economic interests – and how that can be represented on a map. This will come in handy once the Legislature starts collecting feedback.
- Use software tools such as Dave's Redistricting App and Districtr to draw district maps showing either (a) what a fair map would look like, or (b) where the community you believe should be better represented is located.
Read the Common Cause Activist Handbook on Redistricting Reform to learn about what reforms have been successful in the past, and what steps to take to enact reform in the future. While the deadline to change the constitutional process for this redistricting cycle has passed, it is never too early to plan and organize for reforms.
Contacts
Data provided by the Princeton Gerrymandering Project