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Federal judge finds Jacksonville City Council, School Board districts were likely racially gerrymandered

A judge found that City Council likely used race as a predominant factor in drawing the district maps.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — (The video above is from a previous report. Click here to read the full article from The Tributary.)

A federal judge has found that seven City Council and three School Board districts were likely racially gerrymandered, reports Andrew Pantazi for The Tributary.

Fourteen plaintiffs, including advocacy groups and Jacksonville voters, are suing the city and Duval County supervisor of elections over the map. 

That lawsuit is going to trial in 2023. Ahead of that trial, U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard was tasked with the decision to immediately halt the implementation of the map or not.

This week, through a preliminary injunction, Howard found the City Council likely had used race as a predominant factor in drawing the maps in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, reports The Tributary. 

This means the city will get a second chance at redrawing the maps, and then the plaintiffs could challenge that new map and propose their own. The city must enact its new map by Nov. 8. Plaintiffs may submit alternative proposals if they object by Nov. 18, reports The Tributary.

Defense attorneys for the city have argued race was not the predominant factor when the new redistricting lines were drawn. The defense attorney says when city council members met to redraw the district lines, they started with the existing lines from 2011, tried to respect communities of interest, protect incumbents, minimize river crossings and use total population numbers.

The Tributary reports that the judge says the points of starting with existing lines and respecting communities of interest "seem to boil down to race." 

“We are happy the court sided with the plaintiffs today and ordered the City Council to draw new maps that provide Black communities in Jacksonville a fair voice in city government,” said Matletha Bennette, senior staff attorney for voting rights with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). 

“With new maps that accurately represent Jacksonville and provide a fairer voice to Black communities, residents across the city can have hope for positive changes and equal opportunity to bring their needs to the City Council,” said Isaiah Rumlin, president of the Jacksonville Branch of the NAACP.

The city’s lawyers will now meet with City Council in a non-public meeting to discuss whether to accept the ruling or appeal it to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Click here to read the full article from The Tributary.

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