As I reported May 1, Treasure Coast Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, was one of four Republican senators to vote April 29 against a controversial plan to change Florida congressional districts.
The Senate’s 21-17 vote to pass a plan pitched by Gov. Ron DeSantis was much closer than the landslide passage it saw in the state House. DeSantis acted after President Donald Trump “pushed for rewritten districts to keep the GOP’s tenuous House majority” in Congress, according to the USA TODAY Network.
“Florida could switch from a 20-8 Republican advantage in the U.S. House to a 24-4 edge,” Curt Anderson, a network reporter, wrote.
Principle trumps politics
But politics didn’t stop Grall, an attorney, from doing what she thought was right for Floridians rather than what party leaders pushed.
Her verbatim explanation to me via mail — the first I’ve seen from any of the GOP senators who voted no ― is worth a read.
Here it is:
“I agree with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. States should not be forced to use race as a factor when drawing district lines. Their decision was released while the Florida Senate was in Session discussing the proposed Congressional map.
“In 2010, Floridians passed the Fair District Act, which is now Article III, Section 20 and 21 of the Florida Constitution. Section 20(a) states, “No apportionment plan or individual district shall be drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent; and districts shall not be drawn with the intent or result of denying or abridging the equal opportunity of racial or language minorities to participate in the political process or to diminish their ability to elect representatives of their choice; and districts shall consist of contiguous territory.”
“Because the ruling in Callais is grounded in the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, it would follow that language in the Florida Constitution regarding the consideration of race in establishing congressional district boundaries is unconstitutional.
“The Fair Districts amendment addressed additional factors that the Callais decision does not necessarily disrupt. Our state constitution currently does not allow us to consider partisan advantage when determining the districts. During the presentation regarding the proposed map, the mapmaker indicated he had considered partisan information when drawing the lines.
“Finally, redistricting is a highly technical and complex process. The data behind every decision deserves to be examined and questioned with a level of granularity that could not be achieved the day legislators had been given to evaluate the map. The public should be in a position to evaluate a proposed map and provide feedback, as well.”
This column reflects the opinion of Laurence Reisman. Contact him via email at larry.reisman@tcpalm.com, phone at 772-978-2223, Facebook.com/larryreisman or Twitter @LaurenceReisman.
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This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Exclusive: Florida GOP senator who opposed congressional plan explains
Reporting by Laurence Reisman, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
