The internet erupted on Monday after news spread that Gov. Ron DeSantis was employing a three-pronged legal strategy to evade Florida’s constitutional ban on partisan gerrymandering and redrawing the Sunshine State’s election map.
DeSantis quietly orchestrated a special legislative session to approve new congressional maps designed to create more GOP-friendly districts ahead of the November midterm elections.
People on social media sounded the alarm and raised several questions over the maneuver.
“I realize that laws don’t matter anymore, but for me, if you are going to cover Florida redistricting, you must lead with the fact that whatever is being proposed here is explicitly prohibited by the state constitution. What are we even doing here?” political commentator Jamesetta Williams wrote on X.
“Quick refresher for people when we get the underlying data. A map is a ‘dummymander’ if the ultimate outcome is worse than **the status quo** for the party that drew it, not worse than it was intended to be. A map is not a dummymander if it aims to pick up 4 and only picks up 2,” Jacob Rubashkin, deputy editor of Inside Elections, wrote on X.
“This is a gerrymander done with the intent of helping Republicans and hurting Democrats, which is explicitly prohibited by Florida’s constitution. The only way this map could stand (assuming it’s passed into law) is if FL’s Supreme Court willfully ignores the state constitution,” James Surowiecki, author and contributor for The Atlantic and Fast Company, wrote on X.
“The map Florida just released is missing District 25. I’m told members of the state legislature are currently discussing whether this is a mistake or not,” Symone D. Sanders Townsend, Democratic strategist and MS NOW host, wrote on X.
“Where are all the Republicans who whined about the Virginia map? They’re unusually quiet this morning,” “Jeopardy!” winner, author and atheist activist Hemant Mehta wrote on X.
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