Gov. Ron DeSantis and legislative leaders have been dismissed as defendants in a lawsuit that argues a federal court should redraw Florida’s congressional districts.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs filed notices Wednesday that said they were dismissing DeSantis and the legislative leaders, leaving Secretary of State Laurel Lee as the defendant in the case. U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor issued an order Thursday recognizing the dismissals.
The groups Common Cause Florida and FairDistricts Now and five voters filed the lawsuit on March 11 after DeSantis said he would veto a congressional redistricting plan passed by the Legislature.
The lawsuit argued that an impasse between DeSantis and lawmakers jeopardized the chances of reaching agreement on a map — and that judges should step in to make sure revamped districts are set before this year’s elections.
DeSantis vetoed the legislative plan Tuesday and called a special session from April 19 to April 22 to approve a map as part of the once-a-decade reapportionment process. The notices filed Wednesday did not detail reasons for dismissing DeSantis and the legislative leaders.
Attorneys for the legislative leaders had filed a motion Tuesday seeking such a dismissal. Lawmakers named in the case were Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby; House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor; Senate Reapportionment Chairman Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero; Sen. Jennifer Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican who chairs the Senate Select Subcommittee on Congressional Reapportionment; House Redistricting Chairman Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach; and Rep. Tyler Sirois, a Merritt Island Republican who chairs the House Congressional Redistricting Subcommittee.
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