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 March is the earliest date special primary elections could be held
in the affected districts, Secretary of State Ken Detzner said in a
court filing.
Seven U.S. congressional districts were impacted by the
redistricting maps passed this week by the state legislature.
Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis ruled in July that two of the
state's 27 congressional districts were unconstitutional due to
gerrymandering. He found state Republican leaders improperly
conspired to rig the boundaries to protect the party's majority in
the U.S. House of Representatives.
Realigning the two districts - held by north Florida Democrat
Corrine Brown and Orlando-area Republican Daniel Webster - had a
ripple effect on five adjoining boundaries.
Lewis is scheduled to hear court arguments on Aug. 20 about whether
to order special elections in the affected districts.
Republican legislative leaders and Detzner, a Republican, oppose
delaying the November general elections, noting that early voting
has begun for the Aug. 26 primaries.
The League of Women Voters of Florida, Common Cause and other
plaintiffs who successfully sued the state over the 2012
redistricting maps say the boundaries should be fixed before the
next election.
After consulting with local elections supervisors, Detzner said a
special primary election could be held no earlier than March 17,
2015, and a general election on May 26.
That would not allow special elections to be held in time to meet
federal requirements for members of Congress to begin their two-year
terms by Jan. 3, Detzner noted.
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But some questioned his timeline. Leon County Elections Supervisor
Ion Sancho, an independent, said the judge should reject the state's
request to hold this year's elections with the flawed congressional
map.
"You don’t want to reward the criminal by letting him keep the
goods," said Sancho.
Legislative leaders filed a separate court filing on Friday,
disputing the plaintiffs' claim that Democrats were shut out of a
special session to redraw the maps.
"The remedial plan complies with all requirements of the Florida
Constitution and with the court’s final judgment," lawyers for the
legislature wrote.
The plaintiffs in the suit said in a statement that they disagreed
and will file a court response on Monday.
(Writing by Letitia Stein; Editing by David Adams, Bill Trott and
Jim Loney)
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