澳彩开奖

Jacksonville, Fla. 鈥斅燭oday 迟丑别听,听, and 迟丑别听澳彩开奖 (澳彩开奖)聽filed a lawsuit on behalf of 迟丑别听, 迟丑别听, 迟丑别听,听, and 10 individual city residents challenging the Jacksonville City Council鈥檚 .听

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville, claims that the new district maps unconstitutionally pack four City Council districts and two School Board districts with Black voters, diminishing their influence in adjacent districts. This racial gerrymandering violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and reduces Black voters鈥� ability to elect candidates of their choice for the City Council and the Duval County School Board. The lawsuit also challenges the maps as illegal under the City Charter, which requires districts to be logical and compact.

In March 2022, the Jacksonville City Council passed, and Mayor Lenny Curry signed, the new maps, redrawing the voting districts for the next decade.听In passing these maps, the Council impermissibly packed Black residents into Council Districts 7, 8, 9, and 10. As a result, the Council also ensured an artificially high white population in three adjacent districts鈥擠istricts 2, 12, and 14.

鈥淭hese maps must be redrawn to represent all Jacksonville residents equitably,鈥� said聽Nicholas Warren, staff attorney with the ACLU of Florida. 鈥淭he Jacksonville City Council cannot deprive the people of fair representation by intentionally packing these districts and minimizing the voices of Black voters. Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy and the fundamental right upon which all our civil liberties rest. The Council must be held accountable.鈥澛�

鈥淭hese maps deny Black communities equal representation in Jacksonville and diminish the voice of Black voters in how resources are allocated and their communities are governed,鈥� said聽Jack Genberg,听senior聽staff attorney for voting rights with 澳彩开奖.听鈥淲e hope this litigation will achieve equal representation for all voters in Jacksonville and allow all communities in the city to advocate for their needs.鈥�

The packed districts snake through the City to capture as many Black voters as possible, making their Black populations artificially high. The Black populations of the surrounding districts are simultaneously depressed because they carefully avoid concentrations of Black voters. As a consequence, most of Jacksonville鈥檚 Black voters are segregated into just four of fourteen districts, depressing their influence over City Council elections overall.

The lawsuit also challenges the gerrymandering of Duval County School Board Districts 4, 5, and 6, which are each made up of two of the challenged City Council districts.听

Upon filing, plaintiffs said:

鈥淚n their efforts to dilute Black voting strength, the Jacksonville City Council has taken聽away our right to an equal say in how our city is run,鈥� said聽Ben Frazier, president of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville. 鈥淲e won't stop fighting until we scrap these maps secure fair districts that protect equal representation聽for all of the people.鈥澛�

鈥淭hrough these district maps, the Jacksonville City Council has attempted to strip us of our right to have our votes matter equally,鈥� said聽Isaiah Rumlin, president of the Jacksonville NAACP.聽鈥淭his represents an assault on one of our most fundamental rights since it determines how our communities will be treated by the city. We must prevent these maps from going into effect so that we can continue advocating for our communities."

鈥淭hese efforts by the Jacksonville City Council to 鈥榩ack鈥� Black voters into as few districts as possible, denying their equal representation, must be overturned,鈥澛爏aid聽Michelle Hollie, president of the ACLU of Florida Northeast Chapter.听鈥淣ot only do these maps violate the fundamental rights of Black voters in Jacksonville, they could also strip communities of color of fair access to resources and deny communities of color fair treatment by the city.鈥�

鈥淏lack residents in Duval County deserve to have their voices heard and their votes fairly represented. The City of Jacksonville has chosen to overthrow the fundamentals of democracy by packing districts and we will not stand for it,鈥� said Mon茅 Holder, Senior Director of Advocacy & Programs of Florida Rising.

Maps of the challenged districts can be found

The complaint in聽Jacksonville Branch of the NAACP v. City of Jacksonville聽can be found HERE