DeSantis Schemes to Sidestep Florida Constitution to Help Trump

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is hoping to get around Florida’s Constitution in order to redraw the state’s congressional map and give Republicans nationally a big advantage.The Florida Constitution bans legislators from drawing districts with “the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent.” DeSantis, who has called a special session of the state legislature to vote on the new maps on Tuesday, plans to get around that provision in three ways, Axios reports.First, DeSantis’s office has redrawn the new congressional districts in secret, rejecting state legislators’ calls for an open process during their regular session in January. DeSantis is the first governor in state history to submit his own secretly drafted maps, and as of Thursday night, Florida lawmakers still haven’t seen them. The hidden process frustrates legal challenges, making it hard for plaintiffs to access records and prove intent.Second, since DeSantis’s staff are the ones drawing the maps, he can claim executive privilege as a legal defense to court challenges. He did so in a 2022 court challenge to new legislative maps. In that case, he also invoked the “apex doctrine,” which requires plaintiffs to first depose low-level staff members before higher ones, to shield his staff from depositions. Ultimately, the maps were upheld in federal court.That doctrine would waste time and help the Florida governor run out the clock on any court challenges to his districts, which is the third part of DeSantis’s plan. The U.S. Supreme Court generally abides by the “Purcell principle,” which limits lower courts from changing election laws too close to an election to protect voters. By running out the clock in court, DeSantis can then invoke that principle to force his maps through in time for November’s midterm elections, although this could backfire if the courts decide DeSantis’s changes are too close to the midterms.Republicans hope Florida can offset a Democratic redistricting win in Virginia earlier this week, when voters passed a state constitutional amendment to temporarily allow the Democratic-run legislature to redraw the state’s maps. But even if DeSantis successfully gets his new maps approved, there’s no guarantee that Republicans will gain seats.“The enemy gets a vote,” a Republican consultant involved in the redistricting process told Axios. “And in an environment like this, where independents are breaking hard against us and our people aren’t showing up and Democrats are pissed, we could wind up losing a net number of seats.”