Fla. Gov. DeSantis wants lawmakers to dismantle a minority voting district

Fla. Gov. DeSantis wants lawmakers to dismantle¹ a minority voting district

Transcript²

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled legislature appear to be headed for a showdown over maps. Florida is redrawing its congressional districts.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Florida's Republican governor and the Republican-controlled Legislature appear to be headed for a showdown over the redrawing of its congressional districts. Governor Ron DeSantis wants maps that would dilute³ African American voting in two key districts, and he has threatened a veto if lawmakers don't comply. NPR's Greg Allen reports from Miami.

GREG ALLEN, BYLINE⁴: Under the Constitution, it's up to state legislatures to draw new maps for congressional districts once a decade. But in Florida this year, Governor Ron DeSantis has made it clear that he wants a say.

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RON DESANTIS: We will not be signing any congressional map that has an unconstitutional gerrymander in it, and that is going to be the position that we stick to, so...

ALLEN: DeSantis is focused particularly on a minority voting district in North Florida. It includes much of Jacksonville and stretches west along the state's northern border. The boundary lines were approved by the court several years ago to uphold federal and state protections for Black voters. DeSantis has proposed his own maps that eliminate that one and another African American district in the Orlando area. Florida's Senate has rejected that idea. Last week, the governor sent a redistricting expert to make his case to members of a committee in Florida's House.

ROBERT POPPER: This district's going to have problems in federal court. If I had a client, I would counsel them that way.

ALLEN: That's Robert Popper with Judicial⁵ Watch, a conservative activist⁶ group. He argues that drawing a district more than 200 miles long that in one place is just a few miles wide violates a federal requirement for compactness. The district connects rural and urban Black communities along Florida's northeast border. Michael Li with the Brennan Center for Justice says the district is protected not just by the Federal Voting Rights Act, but also by Florida's constitution, which prohibits lawmakers from weakening existing minority voting districts.

MICHAEL LI: So if you have a district that is performing for Black voters, to dismantle it, to make it such that it doesn't elect a Black-preferred candidate would be problematic under Florida law, even if it isn't problematic under federal law.

ALLEN: In the end, committee members, both Republicans and Democrats⁷, rejected DeSantis's plan. A decade ago, Republican leaders drew maps in Florida that embroiled⁸ them in lawsuits¹⁰ for several years and ended with courts forcing them to draw new maps that protected the rights of minority voters. Matthew Isbell, a redistricting expert who works with Democrats, says that experience has made DeSantis's partisan¹¹ maps a hard sell, even with Republican lawmakers.

MATTHEW ISBELL: I think the biggest issue from the lawmakers was, you're asking us to break state law and guarantee a lawsuit⁹. Why on earth would we do that?

ALLEN: For Democrats and voting rights groups, the map drawn¹² by the Republican-controlled House Committee also has problems. It eliminates a protected African American district in Orlando, and voting rights groups will likely challenge it in court if it's adopted. Some Republicans, especially conservative activists¹³, believe the courts, both at the federal and state level, may be ready to reevaluate protections for minority voters. The Supreme¹⁴ Court recently gave way to that argument with a decision allowing Alabama to at least temporarily use maps that activists say dilute the power of Black voters. DeSantis's map would reduce the number of protected African American districts in Florida from four to two and would likely give Republicans two additional seats. Isbell believes the governor, a potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate, is trying to firm up support among conservative activists.

ISBELL: My firm belief is that Ron DeSantis's proposals are not so much about him actually caring what the congressional lines look like - I don't think he really cares - but him wanting to appeal to that base.

ALLEN: At a meeting today, a Florida House Committee will decide whether to approve its new congressional maps, even if that means defying the governor.

Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.

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1 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 dilute   

vt.稀释，冲淡；adj.稀释的，冲淡的

参考例句：

• The water will dilute the wine.水能使酒变淡。
• Zinc displaces the hydrogen of dilute acids.锌置换了稀酸中的氢。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

6 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

10 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

11 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

12 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

13 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。