A Florida judge ruled the states congressional district map invalid Thursday night, saying it violates constitutional provisions that require fair districts and instead favors Republicans. In a scathing opinion, Leon County Circuit Judge Terry P. Lewis ruled in Tallahassee that the Legislatures Republican political consultants had made a mockery of the redistricting process, tainting it with partisan intent. Lewis said that the districts, drawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature after the 2010 census, flouted voter-passed constitutional amendments intended to eliminate gerrymandering - that is, often-bizarre and irregular lines that make a district safe for one party or the other. Gerrymandering has been criticized as allowing, in effect, the representatives to choose their voters instead of vice versa, he wrote.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 09:40:18 +0000