Current:Home > StocksGroups claim South Florida districts are racially gerrymandered for Hispanics in lawsuit -Wealth Navigators Hub
Groups claim South Florida districts are racially gerrymandered for Hispanics in lawsuit
View
Date:2025-04-24 21:29:14
MIAMI (AP) — Progressive civic groups have challenged how four congressional districts and seven state House districts in South Florida were drawn by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature, claiming they were racially gerrymandered for Hispanics who are too diverse in Florida to be considered a protected minority.
The groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday, claiming the districts are unconstitutional and asking a federal court in South Florida to stop them from being used for any elections. Named as defendants were the Florida House of Representatives and Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd.
A message seeking comment was left Saturday at the Secretary of State’s office.
According to federal and state law, race can be considered during redistricting to protect minority voters if the minority group is cohesive and if majority-white voters are able to keep the minority group from electing their preferred candidates.
However, the Florida Legislature wrongly assumed that South Florida’s Hispanic voters are cohesive when that’s no longer the case since the white majority in Florida regularly votes in coalition with the Hispanic voters in South Florida, the lawsuit said.
“Rather, it is nuanced, multifaceted, and diverse with respect to political behavior and preferences,” the lawsuit said of South Florida’s Hispanic community. “The Legislature was not entitled to draw race-based districts based on uninformed assumptions of racial sameness.”
Instead, genuine minority communities of interest in the city of Miami and Collier County, which is home to Naples, were split up when the districts were drawn, according to the lawsuit.
More than two-thirds of the residents of Miami-Dade County — where the districts targeted by the lawsuit are concentrated — are Hispanic.
“In drawing these districts, the Florida Legislature subordinated traditional redistricting criteria and state constitutional requirements to race without narrowly tailoring the district lines to advance a compelling government interest,” the lawsuit said.
The congressional districts being challenged — 19, 26, 27 and 28 — stretch from the Fort Myers area on the Gulf Coast across the state to the Miami area and down to the Florida Keys. The House districts under scrutiny — 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 118, and 119 — are concentrated in the Miami area.
All the districts currently are being represented by Republicans.
As drawn, the districts violate basic principles of good district drawing, such as making sure communities stay intact, being compact and keeping districts from stretching far and wide into disparate neighborhoods, the lawsuit said.
veryGood! (3)
Related
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Israel strikes Gaza for the second time in two days after Palestinian violence
- US border agency chief meets with authorities in Mexico over migrant surge
- Måneskin's feral rock is so potent, it will make your insides flip
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Breakers Dominika Banevič and Victor Montalvo qualify for next year’s Paris Olympics
- 2 adults, 3-year-old child killed in shooting over apparent sale of a dog in Florida
- A statue of a late cardinal accused of sexual abuse has been removed from outside a German cathedral
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- 'Here I am, closer to the gutter than ever': John Waters gets his Hollywood star
Ranking
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Inside Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker's Disney-Themed Baby Shower
- Trump criticized by rivals for calling 6-week abortion ban a terrible thing
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bills to enhance the state’s protections for LGBTQ+ people
- Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
- Philippines vows to remove floating barrier placed by China’s coast guard at a disputed lagoon
- Young climate activists challenging 32 governments to get their day in court
- WEOWNCOIN︱Driving Financial Revolution
Recommendation
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
QB Joe Burrow’s status unclear as Rams and Bengals meet for first time since Super Bowl 56
US border agency chief meets with authorities in Mexico over migrant surge
College football Week 4 highlights: Ohio State stuns Notre Dame, Top 25 scores, best plays
NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
Amazon is investing up to $4 billion in AI startup Anthropic in growing tech battle
Måneskin's feral rock is so potent, it will make your insides flip
Residents prepare to return to sites of homes demolished in Lahaina wildfire 7 weeks ago