Hi John,
Our trial to STOP Ron DeSantis’s attacks on Black votes and Black voices ended just last week. And our case has created a lot of buzz! Even being highlighted by news outlets like NPR and Politico.
Common Cause and NAACP representatives together with the legal team from Patterson Belknap and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, outside the U.S. Federal Court in Tallahassee.
Right now, Black Floridians are being silenced by the congressional voting map Gov. DeSantis forced through the legislature last year. That map was drawn to “crack” Black communities by dividing them up across four different districts – all with the goal of weakening the overall voice of Black voters.
We couldn’t let that stand – so we challenged the racist maps in federal court. We decided to go to trial, because the people deserve to know the facts.
And John, just like we expected, our opposition had a hard time defending themselves in court: “the DeSantis administration has struggled to explain their actions. There’s been a lot of twisting and turning, there’s a lot of fabrication, there’s a lot of denial of history” – as our team told Politico.
Common Cause has thousands of members across Florida – including in the very districts where Governor DeSantis and the legislature have prevented Black voters from exercising their right to elect their representative of choice. We work every day to create an open, accountable government that is of, by, and for the people – and that means defending fair representation.
That’s why we brought this important case, John, because Black voters in Florida have a right to free and fair representation where their votes and voices count.
None of this would be possible without your support. Common Cause members like you rose to the challenge for this lawsuit, helping cover many of the costs associated with the trial.
I want to take a moment and thank each and every Common Cause member for the work you do to defend our democracy and voters across the nation. We wouldn’t be here without you.
We’re thankful to have wrapped up the trial, and we’re working toward a decision that protects every Floridian’s right to vote.
Thanks for all you do,
Kathay Feng, Vice President of Programs
and the team at Common Cause
P.S. You can read more coverage of this landmark trial in NPR, Politico the Miami Herald, The Tributary, The Scoop, Florida Phoenix, and the Tampa Bay Times.
