Amid blistering attacks on the Florida Supreme Court and the state Senate, the Florida House passed a congressional redistricting map Tuesday. The new map affects all of Florida’s 27 congressional districts to some extent, though some districts will be less recognizable than others. In South Florida, districts 21 and 22 previously ran parallel to each other vertically along the eastern side of Broward and Palm Beach counties. Now, the districts will be stacked one on top of the other, with one in Palm Beach County and one in Broward County and southeast Palm Beach County.
The House map differs from one the state Senate is poised to pass Wednesday, which significantly alters district boundaries in Central Florida, especially the three congressional districts that cover eastern Hillsborough County, northern Polk County, and eastern Lake County.
The 120-member House approved its map by a 76 to 35 vote, with nine legislators not present. Known as the “base map,” it was created by legislative staffers to comply with the court ruling that eight of Florida’s 27 congressional districts had been drawn to favor the Republican Party.
A pair of state constitution amendments passed in 2010 banned legislators from drawing districts with the intent to favor any political party or incumbents.
Full Article: Florida House passes redistricting map – Sun Sentinel.