CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — Recently, multiple voters have urged the Pinellas County Legislative Delegation to delay the redistricting process.
Voting rights advocate Simon Adams was one of them.
“We are saying ‘no’ to redistricting, especially a mid-decade redistrict,” Adams said.
Adams is a field manager with the group Equal Ground.
The group, along with local citizens, is requesting state legislators to postpone actions until after the 2030 census, allowing more time for residents to engage with lawmakers.
“Having a diverse set of input in the map rather than it just coming top to bottom from the legislature,” Adams said.
Adams, alongside Black voters, are still concerned over the most recent redistricting efforts.
“In 2022, when we did a redistricting, we saw a huge flip of power, and we saw the loss of two congressional Black access seats,” Adams said.
Adams referred to changes initiated by the governor’s office and endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, which dissolved a district in north Florida spanning from Jacksonville to Tallahassee. Additionally, a district in Central Florida was divided.
The governor has previously claimed these districts were instances of racial gerrymandering, which federal law prohibits under the Equal Protection Clause, justifying the need for redrawing.
Republican State Rep. Alex Andrade from Pensacola mentioned that the 2022 map might benefit from adjustments, provided they adhere to state and federal regulations.
“Our priority should be on creating maps that are geographically compact, contiguous, sensible, and respect local governmental boundaries. By emphasizing these aspects, we move closer to achieving a genuine one person, one-vote map,” Andrade stated.
Democratic State Rep Michele Rayner, in St. Petersburg fears a new congressional map will be based on partisan gerrymandering, which is against state law after voters approved the Fair Districts Amendment in 2010. State standards are also meant to protect minority districts.
“I think the republicans have been very clear as to why they want to do this. You have some republicans who are at the beck and call of the president and he has indicated he wants more seats in congress,” Rayner said.
The Florida House has formed a select committee to examine redistricting. House Speaker Danny Perez would like clarification between state and federal laws as they explore drawing a new congressional map. Gov. DeSantis has spoken about his concerns with the Fair Districts Amendment. He said there are aspects in those voter-approved standards that conflict with federal law.
