After a three-judge federal appellate panel unanimously upheld Florida’s 2022 gerrymandered congressional District 5 in North Florida, we thought that the Florida Supreme Court would understand that voting obstruction and non-competitive districts were anti-democratic tactics used by the GOP far-right politicians to win seats in federal and state elections.
We were wrong. The Florida Supreme Court’s July 17 5-1 decision to uphold the state’s unbalanced congressional District 5 map has sent shockwaves through communities, particularly impacting Black voters who were once the majority in this historically significant district stretching from Jacksonville to Tallahassee. This ruling is more than just a legal technicality; it’s a stark message about the erosion of voting power and fair representation.
Many of us had hoped the Florida Supreme Court would recognize the inherent unfairness of gerrymandered districts – a tactic that stifles competition and obstructs the will of the people. Yet, with the stroke of a pen, the conservative majority on the Court, largely appointed by Gov. DeSantis, turned its back on the very essence of democratic participation, allowing a governor and his allies a blatant power grab.
This ruling marks a significant shift in the Court’s stance, given the change in its composition. This abrupt reversal strongly suggests that the ruling was motivated more by extreme right ideology and political alignment than by a fair application of legal principles.
The Court’s majority opinion, authored by Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz, claims that the previous iteration of Congressional District 5 could not be maintained without violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This directly contradicts the Court’s earlier finding and effectively dismisses the intent of Florida’s voter-approved Fair Districts Amendment, which prohibits maps that diminish the ability of minority groups to elect their preferred representatives.
In summary, it is a double disrespect to the will of voters, not only by erasing a district and, therefore, fair representation, but also disregarding a decision made at the polls in 2010, that enshrined in the Constitution through a citizen-led ballot initiative the obligation for lawmakers in Tallahassee to draw fair and more competitive districts where voters could choose their champions.
Sadly, this antidemocratic move is not an isolated incident in our state. Florida has been a testing ground for initiatives that violate our basic rights and democratic ideals.
The current anti-immigrant wave that is overwhelming the country started in the Sunshine State, with DeSantis and the GOP supermajority in the legislature approving draconian bills aimed at criminalizing undocumented immigrants and making it impossible for them to access healthcare and education, while being exploited by several industries through low wages and no benefits at all.
The anti-woke, anti-Black, anti-LGBTQAI+ legislation approved in Tallahassee during 2022, 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions, was the opening for ongoing attacks from the White House and its allies in Congress against the freedoms of speech and assembly, against private and public colleges and universities exercising their rights to decide what to teach and promote, against international students who have to document their “love for America” or else, against the legitimate opposition to the genocide happening in Gaza.
Just as the U.S. Supreme Court’s current MAGA majority has been accused of fostering an “imperial presidency,” their counterparts in Florida are constructing an “imperial governorship”. What we’re seeing from Trump and DeSantis is the governance of emperors or kings, which our country has long rejected. This model empowers the governor (in this case DeSantis) to wield legal authority to remove elected officials who challenge his extreme-right agenda or to punish entities that don’t align with his political ideology.
Today, our Black and Brown communities could feel the brunt of this authoritarianism, whether from Washington, D.C, or Tallahassee. However, we draw strength and inspiration from the struggles of our ancestors, a testament to the fact that we can overcome even the darkest hours.
As we navigate challenging moments in our state and country, we firmly believe that casting our vote and taking collective action to protect our rights and each other are our tools to defeat this extreme right-wing tide.
Our mission is clear: organize our communities, fight for our voting rights, even in the face of biased rulings from the highest courts. The power to shape our future ultimately lies with the people, and we are more committed than ever to defending that power.
Moné Holder is the Chief Advocacy and Political Officer at Florida Rising.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Supreme Court follows the MAGA playbook: shrink our democracy | Opinion
Reporting by Moné Holder / Tallahassee Democrat
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