Jacksonville drops appeal over city voting maps lawsuit

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The City of Jacksonville is dropping its appeal to a lawsuit brought by the NAACP and others against the city over its redistricting maps for city council.

The city was appealing the decision by a federal judge but the decision to back off was made in a special council meeting on Monday where the public and the media were not allowed.

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The district map approved by the judge, which was submitted by the plaintiffs, was used in last week’s election. The judge put the map in place because the new maps drawn by the city were determined to be unfair to minority voters.

The matter could go back to court to work out the original lawsuit over the maps but negotiations are now underway where both sides might settle this case and the current map just used will be permanent.