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Mario Diaz-Balart Loses Another Redistricting Legal Challenge.

In a series of rulings on Constitutional amendment ballot initiatives set for the November election related to redistricting, the Florida Supreme Court put the kibosh on the latest legal challenge to the FairDistricts initiative:

In another decision, the Supreme Court ruled to stop a suit intended to remove Amendments 5 and 6 from the ballot. A group of incumbent politicians tried to take a second bite of the apple by raising issues they could have raised earlier. The court?s decision soundly rejected the politicians? challenge, thus reaffirming that the FairDistricts Amendments will be on the ballot this November. A YES vote on 5 & 6, will stop politicians from selecting their voters and put power back in the hands of the people.

Amendments 5 and 6 will:
?Prohibit politicians from designing districts to favor themselves or their parties;
?Require them to make the districts compact and community based; and
?Make it impossible for legislators to draw districts to diminish the ability of minority voters to elect representatives.

The local "incumbent politician" is Mario Diaz-Balart, and the Florida Supreme Court opinion is here.

Justice Polston, who coincidentally will be in Miami next week to speak at a Federalist Society dinner, concurred in part and dissented in part.

Full post as published by South Florida Lawyers on September 02, 2010 (boomark / email).