New Florida congressional map faces first challenge

A civil rights group filed suit Monday challenging Florida’s new congressional map, just hours after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed it into law. 

In a 71-page complaint filed in the Sunshine State’s Second Judicial Circuit, the Equal Ground Education Fund and 19 Floridians allege that the governor and state Legislature violated the Florida Constitution in enacting the map. 

Last week, the Florida House and Senate approved the map, just one day after panels in both chambers advanced it. The district lines, which DeSantis signed into law on Monday, could net the GOP up to four House seats in November — Republicans already hold a 20-8 edge in the state.

The complaint, though, claims that DeSantis and the state Legislature “openly flouted” Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment, which was approved by voters in 2010 and established strict redistricting standards to prevent partisan gerrymandering or reductions in the political power of minority........

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