Court Rejects Bid to Throw out Florida Congressional Map

By GARY FINEOUT, ASSOCIATED PRESS
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Apr 18, 2016, 7:28 PM ET

Florida's long, twisted legal drama over its congressional districts may finally be reaching its end after a panel on federal judges on Monday rejected a push by U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown to throw out the current district boundaries.

Brown, a veteran member of Congress, argued that the current map, which dramatically altered her Jacksonville district, violates federal voting laws because it diluted the voting rights of minorities. But the panel of three judges disagreed sharply and said that Brown and her attorneys had not produced evidence to prove her case.

The decision could have immediate reverberations because the new map upends the state's political landscape and could lead to the defeat of several incumbents. The current map was approved by the state Supreme Court in December after a lengthy battle.

The new map, for example, puts U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, who has been viewed as a rising star for Democrats, in a north Florida district that leans Republican. She has refused to make a decision on her political future because of the ongoing lawsuit. Brown's district has been shifted from one that stretches south to Orlando to one that now runs west to Tallahassee. She has already drawn challengers.

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