The Florida House of Representatives has voted to split up Black voters by redrawing the state’s 28 districts.
The contentious proposal divides Black voters by cutting the number of Black-majority districts from four to two. Florida’s 5th Congressional District, which stretches from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, will also be redesigned. This region is represented in Congress by a Black Democrat, Rep. Al Lawson. In addition, this adds four Republican-leaning seats and eliminates three highly competitive seats from the previous map.
Florida Democrats protested the vote on Thursday, brandishing signs on the House floor in a failed attempt to stop the measure. Among the protesters was Rep. Angie Nixon, who urged that the legislature draft its own map rather than accept the one proposed by DeSantis and his advisers. However, her pleas fell on deaf ears.
“The Republicans in leadership need to come to the Democratic leadership, and we’re going to draw some constitutional maps. Those are our demands, and we will not be moved,” Nixon stated.
The vote comes as no surprise. DeSantis said he’d submit a “race-neutral” map earlier this month. However, he maintained that it had nothing to do with discrimination.
Black voters were not the only ones affected by redrawing the districts. Walt Disney World’s 25,000-acre Reedy Creek Improvement District, which serves as its own municipality, will also be terminated. The move is in response to the entertainment giant criticizing DeSantis for his “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
