November 4th Election Postponed because of Gerrymandered Congressional Districts
Well, probably not. But according to Florida Judge Terry Lewis, this COULD really happen. Last month, Judge Lewis held that Florida's gerrymandered congressional map violated the state Constitution. This is based on the fact that 17 out of 27 House seats went Republican on the same day that the state as a whole voted Democratic (i.e. re-electing Obama). And just two days ago Judge Lewis issued a new order “suggesting, without outright concluding” (from the linked article) that the unconstitutional map may not be used in the upcoming midterm election. Florida's 2014 congressional election could actually be delayed.
In a rather telling response, Florida's top Republicans have indicated they won't appeal Judge Lewis' order; they're simply asking/groveling/begging him to delay the impact of his decision until after the November election. (Say NO!!!)
In other words, “Yes I stole these items, but can I still take them home with me? Pleeease???”
Nothing sadder than a bunch of sleazebags groveling and pleading not to be held accountable for their sleaze.
In Judge Lewis' order, he determined that Republican gerrymandering had transformed a bloc of four districts “from being four Democratic performing or leaning seats in early maps...to two Democratic and two Republican performing seats in the enacted map.”
Yup. And these four Florida districts are a microcosm of our national disease. This is exactly why the House of Representatives is dominated by Republicans even though, overall, a lot more Democrat than Republican votes were cast in the previous congressional election.
In Judge Lewis' order two days ago, he ordered the state legislature to “submit a remedial or revised map no later than noon on August 15, 2014...There is authority that both justifies pushing back the November 4th election date and suggests that logistically, it can be done. Under the circumstances before me, I believe that the law requires that I at least consider the possibility.”
Whether Judge Terry Lewis' order ultimately prevails or not, this should be a wakeup call to GOP sleazebuckets: Their slippery tactics might start coming back to bite 'em.
Labels: Florida gerrymandered map, Judge Terry Lewis, November election postponed