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Redistricting Trial Enters Second Week

May 27th, 2014 by Mike Vasilinda

Week two of a trial into whether state lawmakers followed voters orders in drawing districts is underway in the state Capitol.

The League of Women voters is questioning how Florida’s Congressional map was drawn. In 2010 voters said map drawing could not favor a party or individual. Jonathan Katz, a redistricting expert from the California Institute of Technology, who analyzed the map and says it has a 16 percent bias toward the GOP, resulting in Republicans winning 58 percent of the seats.

“So this plan, obviously has a large partisan bias in favor of the Republicans” Katz testified.

For the second day, a top Republican Party party official testified he drew political maps that later were enacted by state lawmakers, but Frank Terraferma said he didn’t know how the maps he passed to another GOP consultant made it to an FSU student who gave them to lawmakers. “It was a possibility that someone would rile a map. I did not put a copyright on anything I did.”

The exchanges were often short and coy, including a response when Frank Terraferma was asked why state party officials traveled to Washington to meet with key GOP lawyers and redistricting officials on a particular date. He responded:  “I not sure of the exact date.”

Under cross examination, George Meros, the legislature’s lawyer said not all of the GOP drawn maps were adopted. “They’re different, right? Meros asked Terraferma, who responded: “They’re completely different.”

One missing link in this case if five hundred documents belonging to a GOP consultant. An appeals court has ruled they are trade secrets, but that ruling is being appealed to the state Supreme Court.

The trail is expected to conclude next week. Republicans contend that Democrats choose to live in large urban districts which means they are more in a smaller area, resulting in a natural bias in favor of the GOP. The judge has  promised a ruling by the end of June. Any decision is likely to be appealed.

 

 

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