DAYTONA BEACH — For the second time in two years, the city has been sued for its plan to redistrict Daytona Beach City Commission zones.
After scrapping a redistricting plan that spurred a lawsuit in 2023, city commissioners adopted a new plan Oct. 1. Two weeks later, on Tuesday, Oct. 14, that new plan was met with a second lawsuit.
Three local residents and a community organization called VOTE! have filed the new federal lawsuit challenging the redistricting plan just adopted by city commissioners, arguing that the new map unlawfully ignores communities of interest and neighborhood needs in favor of impermissible racial goals.
The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida contends that zones 5 and 6 were racially gerrymandered, saying commissioners adopted a map with districts that assign Black residents into specific areas in ways that undermine fair districting and dilute Black voting power.
What’s in the redistricting lawsuit against Daytona Beach?
According to the legal complaint, the City Commission’s new redistricting plan splits communities along racial lines and neglects neighborhood needs in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, the plaintiffs say City Commission zones 5 and 6 are racially gerrymandered in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The plaintiffs argue that city commissioners set “an arbitrary and unjustified racial target” that Zone 5 and Zone 6 should have at least 50% Black residents. Zone 5 is centered on the Derbyshire Road and Mason Avenue area. Zone 6 is located just east of Nova Road around International Speedway Boulevard.
“Daytona Beach voters deserve fair representation and equal opportunity for political power,” said Nicholas Sakhnovsky, VOTE! treasurer and founding member. “The City Commission has repeatedly produced maps at great expense to taxpayers, but has yet to draw a fair map. It continues to split up communities of interest, use race as a litmus test, and ignores residents who seek districts that serve our communities. We’re standing up because the very basis of democracy requires each and every voter to have fair representation.”
Who brought the redisctricting lawsuit against Daytona Beach?
The plaintiffs are Josephine Pope, a Black resident and voter in the Zone 6 City Commission district; Victor Valentin, a Hispanic resident and voter in Zone 6; and Gabrielle Adekunle, a Black resident and voter in Zone 5. All three are members of VOTE!, and they are all represented by the ACLU of Florida.
Pope, Valentin and Adekunle are also suing Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis. Neither Lewis nor Daytona Beach City Attorney Ben Gross could be reached for comment.
VOTE! is based in Daytona Beach, and was organized as a countywide political committee in May of 2022. The organization states their purpose is to educate voters and engage in local elections by supporting social justice, getting more people involved in local politics, electing better leaders and promoting access to voting. VOTE!’s members are predominantly politically engaged Daytona Beach residents.
Daytona Beach redistricting lawsuit seeks new map
According to the complaint, the city’s actions cannot be justified under the Voting Rights Act or any other compelling government interest, and instead reflect an unconstitutional use of race in redistricting. The plaintiffs say the new map splits up their communities along racial lines, subordinates respect for genuine communities of interest to racial goals, and classifies them into voting districts simply because of their race.
They want a judge to declare that the new redistricting plan is unconstitutional, and that it can’t be used for any City Commission elections. The plaintiffs also want to be awarded damages of $1 each, attorneys’ fees and costs of the suit.
What’s the history of Daytona Beach redistricting legal challenges?
In July of 2023, city commissioners adopted a redistricting plan that was used in the 2024 municipal elections.
Five city residents challenged the 2023 plan in state court under Florida’s Sunshine Law, and a state statute that prohibits cities from drawing districts with the intent to favor incumbents based on their home addresses.
To resolve that lawsuit, the city agreed in January 2025 to repeal the 2023 plan, revert to the zone boundaries adopted under the 2010 Census, and re-start the redistricting process. That led to the new map city commissioners approved Oct. 1.
“This is the second time we’ve had to go to court to protect Daytona voters,” said Nicholas Warren, staff attorney for the ACLU of Florida. “Even when presented with fair and constitutional alternatives, city commissioners again chose to adopt a gerrymandered map. But Daytonans were watching — and they’re taking a stand to defend their democracy. We are proud to stand with them.”
You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Is Daytona Beach willfully ignoring communities and undermining voters? Lawsuit says yes
Reporting by Eileen Zaffiro-Kean, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
