Congressional Lines to be Redrawn in Special Session

Members of Florida’s legislature are returning to Tallahassee this week to fix the state’s congressional lines that were ruled unconstitutional.

Tallahassee Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis ordered the state’s congressional map be redrawn by Aug. 15, less than a week before the statewide primary.

Judge Lewis ruled in July the way the 2012 map for the Florida’s representation in the U.S. Congress was drawn amounted to a “secret, organized campaign” intended to maximize Florida’s Republican Party representation in the U.S. Congress.

Now, Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford will reconvene the statehouse in a special summer session to redraw the state’s congressional map.

According to a report published late Sunday in the Tallahassee Democrat, Weatherford ordered state legislatures in an email to return to The Capitol Thursday, Aug. 7 to modify the borders.

The redrawn congressional lines will change boundaries of districts 5 and 10, serving parts of Jacksonville, St. Johns River communities, and Greater Orlando, served by Corrine Brown (D-Jacksonville) and Daniel Webster (R-Orlando).

Districts 5 and 10 were named in the July ruling by Judge Lewis as examples of gerrymandering.

The new lines will also change the district boundaries of at least eight other U.S. Representatives, including ranking U.S. House committee chair Rep. John Mica (R-7) of Winter Park and Rep. Alan Grayson (D-9) of the city of Orlando.

Weatherford said in the email that the Florida House maintains “strong objection to any attempt to disrupt the current election process,” the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

Florida’s primary elections are scheduled for Aug. 26.