In an ongoing legal battle over political boundaries, the League of Women Voters and the Florida Legislature argued before the state Supreme Court on Thursday. The League says legislative redistricting maps created last year by the Republican-led House and Senate were gerrymandered to favor the GOP.
The League says this isn't allowed since the ‘Fair Districts’ amendments passed in 2010 aimed at stopping the weirdly-shaped districts that often stretch from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico.Attorney Adam Schachter represented the League.
"Floridians overwhelmingly made it a part of the Constitution that intent now matters. You can’t draw a redistricting map to protect a legislator or protect a party. That is now the law of the land", said Schachter. "We’re here because we think that happened, and that is now illegal."
The Supreme Court has already signed off on the new maps, last year. The Legislature says those maps have to be accepted as there is no perfect political boundary.
Former state Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero represented the Legislature.
"Back in 1967, we had a decade-long redistricting litigation, which is why the Constitution was amended in 1968 to provide for jurisdiction in the Supreme Court and a once-and-for-all kind of procedure", Cantero said.
Redistricting occurs every ten years, after the census. It's historically one of the most partisan issues at the Capitol. The Supreme Court has no timeline on making a decision in the case.