The coalition, which includes organizations like the League of Women Voters of Florida, asked Lewis to either go ahead with the November elections after drawing a new map or delay the elections until December. If the November elections are held under the existing map, the state should hold a separate, special election as soon as March to choose members of Congress under new lines, the groups said. They also asked Lewis to draw a new map instead of allowing the Legislature to do it. “The citizens of Florida have already endured elections under gerrymandered districts after the Legislature blatantly disregarded their will,” the groups’ lawyers said in a filing. “Legislative defendants have expended considerable taxpayer money to resist public scrutiny and defend their unconstitutional conduct. Florida?s voters should not have to wait for two more years for constitutional elections, and they certainly should not have to sit by as legislative defendants risk additional elections under an invalid congressional plan.”
Lewis’ ruling earlier this month found fault with districts represented by Jacksonville Democrat Corrine Brown and Winter Garden Republican Daniel Webster.
The coalition floated an alternative map that would dramatically redraw Brown’s district, which winds from Jacksonville to Orlando. Under the proposal filed Wednesday, the district would run from Jacksonville in the east to Gadsden County in the west. That would require several districts across the state to be redrawn to make sure all districts have roughly equal population.
Full Article: Redistricting clash heats up as hearing approaches.