The House has passed a congressional map proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on a partisan 83-28 vote. But Republicans in the chamber made clear they had nothing to do with its production and were effectively mute on how it came to be.
The lower chamber of the Legislature also declined to take any break while passing the map even as a consequential U.S. Supreme Court decision dropped in the middle the floor session regarding the future of majority-minority and racially motivated political districts.
Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, a Fort Myers Republican, sponsored the legislation (HB 1D) enacting a map, but stressed on the floor that she had nothing to do with its production.
She declined to discuss what tools were used to draw the maps or speculate whether the mapmaker aimed to create a map that performed better for Republicans.
But she defended the decision to take up the Governor’s proposal in a Special Session, even as the House refused to consider other issues in the same call.
“Based on the testimony that we’ve heard in the two various Committees, I believe that there is a likelihood that that map will be upheld against legal challenges,” Persons-Mulicka said.
She did reference testimony in the House Redistricting Committee by Jason Poreda, a senior government analyst in DeSantis’ Office who drew the map.
Poreda said race was never taken into account, and Persons-Mulicka acknowledged that he told the Senate Rules Committee he did take partisan data into account.
Democrats scoffed at the hands-off approach by the Legislature, which, once a decade, is tasked with drawing congressional lines. But lawmakers did not produce either the current map, also a product of DeSantis’ Office, or the proposal being considered now.
“If you have no idea about any of the answers, you don’t know the point, you can’t answer any of the questions that we have, why are you even sponsoring the bill?” asked Rep. Angie Nixon, a Jacksonville Democrat running for U.S. Senate.
While mid-decade redistricting is rare without a court order, Persons-Mulicka said nothing prohibits the state from doing it.
“There is no prohibition within our state constitution or state statute to doing mid-cycle redistricting,” Persons-Mulicka said.
She also said revising the maps was justified when the Florida Supreme Court undermined the Fair Districts Amendment in upholding the cartography signed in 2022. She also noted that the high court only ever considered districts in North Florida.
Rep. Ashley Gantt, a Miami-Dade Democrat, said the map undermines Fair Districts, and questioned the Governor’s Office logic that any ruling on racially drawn districts would result in the rest of the Fair Districts amendment, including a ban on partisan intent, also being tossed.
“Their position is that the severability presumption, and the Fair Districts amendment does not apply because one part is not applicable, that is completely in contravention and completely not based on any legal precedent,” Gantt said.
“And since when do we file or pass legislation so that we can say, well, we know it’s unconstitutional and it’s not based on case law, but we’re going to do it anyway so we can take it to court. That is not the role of the Legislature.”
Republicans in the chamber yielded debate time. Democrats scoffed at lawmakers largely abdicating any role in the process.
“Here we are with a map drawn according to the map drawer in the last two weeks,” said Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, a Broward Democrat, “heard in one House Committee for three hours and now limited to 30 minutes of questions and 45 minutes of debate on either side on the house floor.”
After the Louisiana v. Callais decision was issued, one DeSantis himself said he expected to eradicate any racially motivated drawing of maps, House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell urged the House to take a recess so lawmakers could at least read the decision. The House declined.
Driskell was undeterred, working analysis into the debate.
“Just moments ago, Justice (Samuel) Alito in the Callais case said the Governor and his counsel are wrong. Justice Alito, writing for the majority, said compliance with Section 2 as properly construed, can provide such a reason. It’s on page 8 of the slip opinion that this chamber would not take a recess to go and read. I encourage you to go and read it,” Driskell said.
“The man who drew this map testified under oath that he used partisan data to draw every single district, every one. And when the Governor’s attorney was asked where the Democratic voters are being underrepresented in our congressional delegation, his answer was that this is a normative question.”
Persons-Mulicka waived close, the House cast its vote with scant rhetorical support for its product, and very quickly adjourned Sine Die.
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A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics contributed to this report.
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