The Florida Legislature has officially passed a new congressional map that could potentially give Republicans four additional U.S. House seats.

Gov. Ron DeSantis Reveals Proposed Congressional Map As Florida Legislature Nears Special Session

"Ron DeSantis' new Congressional map for Florida, which positions Republicans to win an extra FOUR seats in the US House, has FULLY PASSED the Senate, 21-17," journalist Nick Sortor wrote.

"It'll now head to DeSantis' desk," he added.

NPR shared further:

The 21 to 17 vote for final passage in the Senate came just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act in a decision on a Louisiana congressional district Wednesday morning.

Both developments will assist President Trump's national push to help the GOP in the midterm elections. With the Florida redistricting, the GOP likely gains an advantage of two or three new seats as Republican-led states have followed Trump's call and Democratic-led states have countered it.

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However, control of the House will depend on the votes in November. Democrats have said the redraw in Florida makes several GOP seats more competitive, potentially leading to smaller seat gains if strong Democratic performances seen in recent special elections continue.

The bill now goes for expected signing by Gov. Ron DeSantis. He has argued that the state's rapid population growth requires redistricting. And he's urged the redrawing of districts that were drawn with consideration for preserving the voting power of minority communities.

"Called this one months ago. The decision implicates a district in FL — the legal infirmities of which have been corrected in the newly-drawn (and soon to be enacted) map," DeSantis said Wednesday.

NBC News has more:

During a Tuesday committee hearing, DeSantis administration map drawer Jason Parada acknowledged he used political performance data when creating his proposal, something Democrats argue is at odds with Fair Districts. But Parada said he did not consider at all racial data, which is in line with the governor’s direction.

As lawmakers debated the maps Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court did hand DeSantis’ legal theory a partial victory.

In a 6-3 decision, the high court ruled in a long-awaited case that the Voting Rights Act did not require Louisiana to draw a second majority-minority congressional district. The ruling did not abolish Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which was enacted to protect minority voters who long faced discrimination in elections.

Though Section 2 remains intact, Republicans in Florida said the ruling is a win for their efforts to enact the maps drawn by DeSantis, who has long said the ruling would be key to Florida’s mid-decade redistricting process.

 

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