REDISTRICTING

A Leon County circuit judge has ruled that key state lawmakers and a top aide to Gov. Ron DeSantis can be questioned about a controversial congressional redistricting plan that passed in April.

Six lawmakers, including House Speaker Chris Sprowls, and legislative staff members have asked a judge for a protective order that would shield them from testifying in a lawsuit about the constitutionality of a new congressional redistricting plan.

When voters go to the polls in August and November, they may notice a change in their congressional candidates and districts.

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday declined to jump into a congressional redistricting fight, leaving in place a lower-court decision that would clear the way for using a controversial plan that Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed through the Legislature.

Attorneys for Secretary of State Laurel Lee, a defendant in the lawsuit filed by voting-rights groups and other plaintiffs, filed a notice of taking the case to the Tallahassee-based 1st District Court of Appeal.

The League of Women Voters was one of the first groups to file a lawsuit against the state of Florida after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on new district maps in April.

One day after it was passed by the legislature during a special session, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he has signed a new, controversial congressional redistricting map.

Voting rights groups have sued Florida over a congressional map drawn by Gov. Ron DeSantis and passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature.

From the House floor, Florida Rep. Travaris McCurdy of Orlando joined other Democrats Thursday to protest Gov. Ron DeSantis’ redistricting map, which was approved in the Florida House later that day.

A congressional map pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis was passed by the Florida House amid a protest by Black lawmakers who say the map will diminish the state’s Black representation in the U.S. House.

A new congressional map submitted by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office that will likely swing Florida’s representation in Washington even further to the GOP has been approved by the state Senate.

With lawmakers heading into a special legislative session this month, Secretary of State Laurel Lee is asking a federal court to put on hold a case that argues judges should set Florida’s new congressional districts.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that he has formally vetoed the redistricting maps approved by the Florida legislature, prompting him to call for a special session to redraw the maps again.

City of Orlando officials are launching a redistricting process this year.

The House passed an unprecedented two redistricting maps with a 67-47 vote Friday. Seven Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the map.

The House Redistricting Committee voted 15-9 to advance to the full House a pair of revised congressional maps that Democrats and other critics said fall short of requirements under a 2010 “Fair Districts” constitutional amendment.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court denied Gov. Ron DeSantis’ request for an advisory opinion on the Congressional redistricting maps proposed by the Florida Legislature and himself.

New maps likely to keep Republicans in power into the 2030s

The Florida House on Wednesday approved new legislative districts over the objections of Democrats, who anticipate legal challenges about minority representation and how the lines were drawn.

The Florida Senate is set to vote Thursday on new congressional districts that, at least for now, don’t follow lines proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration.

The Florida Senate is expected to consider a map on Wednesday that will redraw Congressional districts and add a new one for the state.