Florida Supreme Court dismisses petition that threatened to derail redistricting efforts in the state

The Florida Supreme Court has declined to hear a challenge to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ability to change qualification dates to redraw a congressional map.

Justices ruled the Governor’s Office has the power to call the Legislature into Special Session, as he did when he set a Session starting April 20 for lawmakers to conduct redistricting.

DeSantis set that Session concurrent with the qualifying week for federal candidates, so Secretary of State Cord Byrd ordered qualifying for U.S. House candidates to be moved to June, at the same time as state legislative candidates and most other county offices in Florida.

Petitioners, represented by high-profile Democratic election attorney Marc Elias’ law firm, argued in a brief to the state Supreme Court that DeSantis could not usurp the legislative process, dictating when and how lawmakers will convene to undertake a process required under state law just once a decade.



https://floridapolitics.com/archives/782678-florida-supreme-court-dismisses-petition-that-threatened-to-derail-redistricting-efforts-in-the-state/