A controversial new set of standards for drawing the states legislative and congressional lines was submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice for review Tuesday, but the battle over the FairDistricts amendments and how they could reshape the states political future showed few signs of letting up.
An 11-page filing with the Justice Department -- which must approve changes to Florida voting and redistricting laws because of the states segregationist past -- defused one simmering dispute over the states obligation to submit the amendments for preclearance. It did so by satisfying concerns raised by Gov. Rick Scott, who drew renewed attention to the process when he yanked Amendments 5 and 6 from their first shot at preclearance.
Scott said he was withdrawing the measures, approved with 63 percent of the vote in the November elections, from preclearance scrutiny because of an executive order calling for a review of all new regulations. The move enraged supporters of the standards, who portrayed the withdrawal as a stall tactic.
On Tuesday, Scott said he supported the new filing, which comes from the Legislature.
Despite pressure from special interest groups, I committed to Floridians that my review of the preclearance application for Amendments 5 and 6 would be thorough and complete, Scott said in a statement issued Tuesday. The action of legislative leaders today delivers on that promise.
But the Legislatures filing also included a legal theory that could fuel a new conflict with the supporters of Amendments 5 and 6, which are meant to cut back on political gerrymandering.
The amendments proponents say the selective carving of district lines has created strong GOP majorities in the House, Senate and the states congressional delegation in spite of Floridas recent reputation as a swing state.
In response, the FairDistricts amendment prohibits boundary drawers, a group led again this time by Republicans, from drawing districts to a particular party or candidates advantage, a requirement that both sides agree will likely be decided in court.
In the submission to the Justice Department, legislative attorneys drew on the federal Voting Rights Act and statements from FairDistricts Florida -- which backed the amendments -- to argue that lawmakers can essentially ignore the new standards if they do so to protect districts designed to enhance the opportunity for blacks, Hispanics and other minorities to elect representatives of their own choice.
In promoting minority voting strength, the Legislature may continue to employ whatever means were previously at its disposal, says the filing, submitted by House General Counsel George Levesque and Andy Bardos, special counsel to Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island.
Haridopolos and House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, argued at length last year that the measures could dilute minority voting strength, especially in districts where minority voters play heavily into the final vote but are not a majority. FairDistricts Florida has repeatedly denied that interpretation.
In response to news of the preclearance submission, FairDistricts Now, a successor to the campaign that passed the amendments, suggested Tuesday that it might challenge some of the Legislatures interpretations.
We have received and are reviewing the re-submission of the preclearance application, former Sen. Dan Gelber, the groups general counsel, said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon. We are likely to file a comment with the Department of Justice because the submission contains a number of statements that are clearly intended to undermine the intent of the FairDistricts amendments.
