Florida Redistricting Case Heads to State Supreme Court

By Bridget Bowman

Posted October 23, 2014 at 6:11pm

The Florida Supreme Court voted Thursday to hear a case challenging Florida’s congressional map , setting oral arguments for March.

According to The Associated Press , the court ruled 5-2 to take up the case, fast tracking it through the appeals process. On Oct. 1, the First District Court of Appeal ruled the case should be taken up directly by the state’s highest court. With their vote on Thursday, the Supreme Court judges accepted the case .

The redistricting case unfolded over the summer as a coalition of plaintiffs, including the League of Women Voters, charged that the Sunshine State’s congressional map violated the state’s Fair Districts amendments. A circuit judge ruled that two of the state’s districts violated the amendments, tasking the legislature with redrawing the map.

The judge approved the new map amid plaintiff’s objections the new districts still violated the state constitution. The judge also ruled that the new map would apply in 2016, instead of the 2014, as the plaintiffs had requested.