Ron DeSantis got his vote-suppressing way, John.
Recently a Florida appeals court upheld the state's congressional map (pushed through by Gov. Ron DeSantis) that a lower court had ruled violated the state constitution by diminishing some Black residents' voting power. A pending appeal will likely see this case in the Florida State Supreme Court.
A judge had previously ruled that the map -- redrawn in 2020 -- had illegally shredded the 5th Congressional District, which had been a strongly Black district in north Florida. That lower court ruling had stated that the map "results in the diminishment of Black voters' ability to elect their candidate of choice in violation of the Florida Constitution." But the state's First District Court of Appeals -- filled with right-wing justices handpicked by DeSantis, Rick Scott, and Jeb Bush -- disagreed, allowing the vote-suppressing map to stand.
Florida's voters are worse off for this decision. It's proof that we need to keep fighting in this critical state to defend the right to vote and ensure fairness across the board -- fairness that Florida's opponents of voting rights are so eager to do away with in their quest to preserve their power.
John: We have to turn Florida into the next major voting rights battleground and reverse their anti-democratic takeover. Fuel our work for fair maps and more in Florida and across the country with $25 or whatever you can today >>
