MIAMI – The current Miami City Commission map was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge due to “racial gerrymandering,” which would lead to possible special elections and ongoing negotiations for a deal.
Judge K. Michael Moore’s ruling came after a lawsuit filed by the GRACE organization and other community groups.
According to his decision, the judge found that the lines of the five districts were “unconstitutionally drawn” in both 2022 and 2023.
“By classifying its citizens according to their race, the City reduced Miamians to nothing more than their racial origin, thereby denying them the equal protection of the laws promised by the Fourteenth Amendment,” Judge Moore wrote.
Therefore, the ruling prohibited the City of Miami from holding any elections under the current districts. Moore said he will set a date for the plaintiffs and the City to meet to discuss next steps.
In that scenario, the court could consider holding a special election or designing a corrective map as potential remedies.
“The City of Miami Law Department received and is currently reviewing the order issued by United States District Judge K. Michael Moore,” a spokesperson for the City of Miami said.
What plaintiffs are looking for
The plaintiffs, who are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, said they are seeking special elections for each district.
The ACLU said in a statement that “a federal court in Miami struck down the Miami City Commission’s redistricting map as an unconstitutional gerrymander.”
It held that “the Court ruled that by intentionally dividing neighborhoods along racial and ethnic lines and grouping black and Hispanic voters into segregated districts, the City Commission undermined fair representation.”
Racial manipulation?
The press office of Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo sent DIARIO LAS AMÉRICAS the following statement:
“In 3 districts that each have more than 90 percent Hispanic population, no matter what map is used – ours, the plaintiffs’ or whatever map the judge wants to create – still 3 Hispanics will be elected in these districts.
And he added that “so, where is the racial manipulation? How interesting that in 21st Century Socialism, coups are increasingly carried out through judicial coups.”
