Florida Senate advances redistricting maps despite warning they 'dilute Latino power'

TALLAHASSEE -- Despite harsh criticism from left-leaning voting advocates that legislators are diluting minority voting strength, the Florida Senate’s redistricting committee on Thursday approved its state Senate and congressional maps with near-unanimous votes and virtually no debate.

The only no votes on both maps were from Democrats. Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, opposed both maps. Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, changed his vote at the end of the meeting and voted no on the congressional map. Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Orlando, changed his vote and opposed the state Senate map.

Sen. Linda Stewart, an Orlando Democrat, supported both maps and called them “really good.”

The committee vote in the first week of the 60-day legislative session is a sign the Senate is moving quickly to complete its once-a-decade job of rewriting all congressional and state Senate boundaries to match the changes in population.

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