The Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis indicated that he will veto any House map that leaves north Florida‘s African-American voting district intact. DeSantis said that he would not give his assent to a congressional map that he says has unconstitutional gerrymander. He said that he would remain firm in his position.
The statement by Ron DeSantis comes a day after the state Supreme Court declined to sign an advisory opinion on the constitutional configuration of Congressional Dist. 5.
Ron DeSantis had submitted his version of the congressional map last month for consideration. He intends to carve up the disputed district into 4 separate districts. This would effectively obliterate Black voting power in this region.
Ron DeSantis Firm Of Carving Up Congressional District 5
The State Senate has given consent to a map that leaves the district mostly intact. The House is considering plans that would maintain the district in its current position.
The district is represented by AL Lawson, a Black. The stance taken by Ron DeSantis puts him at odds with his party. The maps pushed through by the Republicans would leave the district untouched for around a decade.
But Ron DeSantis is firm that he will not sign till he has his way. This had created new uncertainty in the district.
The state court gave a unanimous decision in a 5 judge bench. Two judges recused. The court has stated that it could not rule on a single district unless it considered the congressional map of Florida entirely. The court stated that it did not have the necessary information to make a call on this issue.
Acknowledging the setback in the court, Ron DeSantis said that the fresh development was not changing his stance. The Governor has been involved much more than his predecessors in the redrawing of the Congressional districts in the state.
The map presently proposed by Republicans would make considerable changes in the map that would benefit the Republicans by leaving the Congressional district 5 intact.
