Redistricting amendment is upheld

A federal judge on Friday upheld a Florida constitutional amendment imposing new rules restricting how congressional districts are drawn, rejecting a lawsuit by two members of Congress and the state House of Representatives claiming it violates the U.S. Constitution.

Republican Mario Diaz-Balart and Democrat Corrine Brown, the two U.S. House members, argued that under the U.S. Constitution, only the Florida Legislature — not voters through a referendum — can control how congressional districts are designed. State committees are meeting to begin that once-in-a-decade process, which will come together in a January legislative session.

But U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro sided with the Florida Secretary of State's office, the NAACP, the American Civil Liberties Union and five Democratic state lawmakers who contended voters had every right in November to initiate and overwhelmingly approve Amendment 6 that enacted the new rules.

Harry Thomas, attorney for the Florida Secretary of State, noted at a hearing Friday that state lawmakers still must finalize the congressional districts, even with the new amendment in place.

"The Legislature still has the authority to draw the district lines," Thomas said. "The amendment only requires that they consider certain criteria in doing so."

Among other things, Amendment 6 requires that boundaries not be drawn to favor a political party or incumbent; that the districts should be compact rather than sprawling; and that districts cannot be designed to shut racial or language minorities out of the political process. It passed with more than 60 percent of the vote last year.

The aim is to curb gerrymandering of districts, in which lawmakers design boundaries favorable to their own election prospects or contort them to help one political party.

In 1992, for example, districts were created that led to the election of Brown and two other African-Americans to Congress from Florida for the first time since the Civil War — but made neighboring districts more solidly Republican. That year, the GOP aligned with minorities to carve out those districts, which ultimately led to Republican dominance of Florida's congressional delegation.

Voters last year approved an identical amendment governing state legislative districts.

But it was not challenged by the lawsuit.

After the ruling, Diaz-Balart and Brown said they intended to appeal — to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary.

Their challenge centered on the U.S. Constitution's Elections Clause, which states that the "times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the Legislature thereof." Amendment 6 violates that clause, they contend, because it was not approved by state lawmakers.

But lawyers for the other side noted that the Legislature approved the voter initiative and referendum process in 1968 revisions to the Florida Constitution.