In a victory for Republican lawmakers, the Florida Supreme Court on Friday upheld a controversial Senate redistricting plan.
Justices issued the ruling a week after hearing arguments about a redrawn Senate map, with Democrats and other opponents contending that the plan was unconstitutional.
Justices rejected an earlier Senate redistricting proposal but said in Friday’s ruling that the new version met legal standards.
“In this proceeding, we conclude that the opponents have failed to demonstrate that the revised Senate plan as a whole or with respect to any individual district violates Florida’s constitutional requirements,” the majority opinion said.
But Justices James E.C. Perry and Peggy Quince dissented in part of the opinion, arguing that a new District 8 will improperly split black, traditionally Democratic voters in Volusia County.
“I would find that redrawn District 8 has clearly been drawn with the intent to favor a political party to the detriment of a racial minority community,” Perry wrote in a dissent that Quince joined.
