Jacksonville Congresswoman Corrine Brown (D-FL5) could face several opponents in the courtroom as she sues over proposed new district boundaries.
Voting-rights groups are trying to intervene in the suit because they say the Legislature can’t be counted on to defend the Florida Constitution.
Brown is suing over her proposed new district that would stretch from Jacksonville west to the Tallahassee area. She says switching from current north-south configuration takes power away from minority voters.
“And it’s our position that it does not,” says attorney David King. He represents the League of Women Voters and other groups trying to fight Brown.
He says the groups are trying to get into her suit because the Legislature can’t be trusted to defend Brown’s new district—after all, they’re the ones who preferred the north-south version.
King says lawmakers keep proving why Florida’s anti-gerrymandering provisions are vital.
“It’s just very important that the legislators not be given the power and the opportunity to select their own voters,” he says.
The League of Women Voters and other groups fought to get the Fair Districts Amendments passed in 2010.
Since then, they’ve successfully challenged maps that violated them.
