Deal over Florida’s redistricting plan could lead to restoration of Black-dominant district

Voting rights groups that sued state officials over a Florida redistricting plan championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis have agreed to narrow the scope of the lawsuit to a single congressional seat that was redrawn and diminished Black voting power in north Florida. The agreement reached late last week opens the possibility that the seat will be restored to a district dominated by Black voters, depending on how a state judge rules and whether the judge's decision survives rounds of appeals all the way to the Florida Supreme Court, according to court filings in Tallahassee. DeSantis, a candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, was criticized for essentially drawing Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, who is Black, out of office by carving up his district and dividing a large number of Black voters into conservative districts represented by white Republicans.