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Redistricting Suit Goes to Court

May 19th, 2014 by flanews

Did state lawmakers follow the wishes of voters and draw fair districts? The answer to the question will be decided in a courtroom.

In 2010, 3.1 million voters approved the fair-district amendments. The margin for drawing districts without political consideration was two to one.

But whether the legislature lived up to voters’ expectations is now the subject of a trial. At issue are ten congressional seats: from Jacksonville to Central Florida to Miami. The League of Women Voters pushed fair districts and its pushing the lawsuit.

“And it’s about giving voters real choices and making sure elected officials are accountable,” said Deidre McNabb of League of Women Voters.

The first witness on the stand, GOP consultant Marc Reichelderfer acknowledged getting copies of proposed maps a month before the public.

“He gave you the opportunity to give Speaker Cannon advice about the maps, isn’t that correct?” asked League of Women Voters Attorney David King.

“I told him how to draw the maps,” said Reichelderfer, “I did not tell him where to draw the lines on the maps, and I didn’t tell them which map to pick.”

During a break we asked the consultant how he came to see the maps before anybody else with no response.

State lawmakers have already acknowledged some documents have been destroyed.

And another battle going on behind the scenes has the Republican party trying to keep secret hundreds of documents in the possession of a political consultant they say they are trade secrets.

Legislative leaders past and present are expected to testify during the two-week trial.

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