In a plot twist, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) decided this week to delay the state’s redistricting special session, pushing it back by just one week. That slightly changes what some (i.e. we) have termed this month’s Florida vs. Virginia redistricting showdown, which was set to happen next week. Now Florida lawmakers will have a few more days to react after Virginia voters either approve or reject Democrats’ redistricting proposal on April 21. Reminder: If you’re a Virginian who hasn’t voted yet, now’s the time.
As always, thanks for reading.
Jen Rice, Reporter
The state of redistricting across the nation
Nearly one year after President Donald Trump kicked off an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting arms race, here’s where the math stands. Republicans have potentially gained seven more seats in Congress — five in Texas, one in Missouri and one in North Carolina. They could add two to five more seats to their tally if Florida passes a new map in a (slightly delayed) special session this month. Meanwhile, Democrats have potentially picked up six seats — five in California and one in Utah. They could gain four more seats in Virginia if voters approve a redistricting referendum on April 21 and if the plan holds up in court.
DeSantis delays redistricting session
DeSantis’ postponed Florida redistricting session is now set for April 28, a week after Virginia’s redistricting election. State House Speaker Daniel Perez (R) told Politico this week that he still hasn’t seen the governor’s proposed map, and State Senate President Ben Albritton (R) wrote that the Senate is “not drafting or producing a map for introduction during the special session.”
Rep. Byron Donalds (R), a candidate for governor (DeSantis is term limited), accidentally veered from approved talking points this week, saying that the redraw is motivated by partisanship. (Gerrymandering is actually illegal in Florida!)
“You have California and Virginia responding to Texas and we’ve been watching all this kind of happen in Florida. Because of what now has been done in Virginia, now Florida needs to respond,” Donalds said, according to the Miami Herald.
However, as I mentioned last week, DeSantis may have an entirely different reason for pushing back the special session: the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which will have huge implications for redistricting. Political socialites across the spectrum, including former White House spokesperson and Dancing with the Stars competitor Sean Spicer, claim the opinion is “done” and may clear the way for some GOP-controlled legislatures to gerrymander to their hearts’ content before the midterm elections.
Virginia’s redistricting election day is coming up
Tuesday is election day in Virginia’s redistricting referendum vote, which could come down to a close margin despite the tens of millions of dollars spent on the campaign, particularly by Democrats.
Nearly all of the $93 million raised for the election has come from nonprofit groups not required to disclose their donors, the Washington Post reported.
As of this week, more than one million voters have cast a ballot in the referendum election. If the measure passes, Democrats could gain up to four seats in Congress as part of a plan to counter Trump’s gerrymandering gains in other states — including whatever happens next in Florida.
We’ll be covering election day in Virginia, so stay tuned.
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Wisconsin governor’s anti-gerrymandering push could fizzle out
Outgoing Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) is pushing lawmakers to pass an official ban on gerrymandering. The special legislative session he called for that purpose began Tuesday. But, so far, it doesn’t seem like anyone is biting.
Evers didn’t hesitate to criticize lawmakers of both parties for their lack of interest.
“Republican and Democratic lawmakers had expressed reservations about the governor’s effort to ban the practice, with each party hedging for the potential that, by securing legislative majorities, they can retain the power to draw the state’s maps in favor of their political party,” Evers wrote in a statement.
Odds and ends
Texas is inexplicably still trying to remove from office a Democratic state lawmaker who participated in last year’s redistricting quorum break. In a new filing this week, the governor’s office continues to argue that he abandoned his office by leaving the state to block a vote on the GOP gerrymander.
Kansas City resident Qiana Thomason wrote an opinion piece for Democracy Docket this week explaining why the stakes are so high in the Missouri redistricting battle.
What we’re doing
The Virginia residents on the Democracy Docket team are heading to the polls (or returning their mail ballots) in the final days before the redistricting referendum election. They say they will miss the myriad of mailers that greet them each night, especially how President Barack Obama and Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) somehow both endorse and reject the redistricting proposal (depending on which party paid for the mailer, of course). Here are just a few we've collected since early voting began.
If you know any Virginians, it’s time to remind them to cast a ballot. Election day is Tuesday, April 21.
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