Florida SC allows Gov. DeSantis backed congressional map

Ahead of the 2022 midterms, the Florida Supreme Court Thursday refused to block the new congressional map backed by the state’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, giving a significant disadvantage to the Democrats.

DeSantis’ congressional map 
Governor DeSantis had vetoed the two previous, less-aggressive maps created by the Republican-controlled legislature and introduced his congressional map. 

The redrawn map will give Republican candidates a potential 20-8 advantage in the nation’s third-largest state, a tremendous drawback for the Democrats as they struggle to hold on to their majority in the Senate. 

The new map design would dismantle the North Florida seat held by Rep. Al Lawson, a Black Democrat. Civil rights groups opposing the map are calling it “unlawful”. 

The groups also stressed that the new map violates the state's constitutional provisions intended to prevent partisan gerrymandering—manipulating district lines to benefit a political party.