Florida's counsel argues nixing Gov. DeSantis' map would be racist and partisan

A lawsuit claims a congressional map signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis was “infected by racial discrimination.” But Attorneys for Secretary of State Laurel Lee argue preserving a North Florida district as it was configured the last three election cycles would be the true racist decision — and one that unfairly benefits Democrats.

In a court brief responding to allegations by Black Voters Matter and other groups, counsel defending the state’s new map say cartography implemented by the Florida Supreme Court in 2015 drew districts illegally with race as a motivating factor.

The brief opens by quoting a Washington state ruling that declared “the way to stop discriminating on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”

“Plaintiffs ask the court to turn this truism on its head and revert to some racially gerrymandered congressional map that packs Black voters from Florida’s First Coast together with Black voters over 200 miles away from Florida’s Big Bend,” a brief filed on behalf of the state argues.

Read more: https://floridapolitics.com/archives/523368-floridas-counsel-argues-nixing-gov-desantis-map-would-be-racist-and-partisan/