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2015 Senate redistricting

Elections supervisors to court: Decide Senate redistricting by March 15, please

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Florida’s election supervisors are asking the courts to resolve the state Senate redistricting saga by March 15 to protect the “quality and integrity of the (voting) process.” The Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections filed its notice Wednesday with Circuit Judge George Reynolds, who is in the process of deciding how to redraw the state’s 40 senatorial districts. Reynolds, who sits in Tallahassee, held a trial on the matter last week. His recommendation goes to the Florida Supreme Court, which has…

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State Senate redistricting trial set to begin Monday

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Circuit Judge George Reynolds is scheduled to begin on Monday a five-day trial to determine the makeup of the state’s 40 senatorial districts. After listening to lawmakers, staff members, expert witnesses and other who will testify, Reynolds will have to pick one of five suggested maps submitted by the plaintiffs and the Legislature. One of those maps theoretically could break the GOP’s hold on the chamber, with redrawn districts that could result in a 50-50 split of Democrats and Republicans…

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Judge in redistricting case says he may just “pick a map”

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Mindful of time constraints, the judge in charge of the state Senate redistricting case said he’ll likely have to just pick one of the many proposed new maps rather than, say, combining elements of different ones. Circuit Judge George Reynolds held a pretrial hearing in the case on Tuesday, with trial set to begin 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 14. But Reynolds also brought up a point that sent chills through several reporters’ spines: What if he eventually finds that all…

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Senate redistricting plaintiffs come in with six new maps

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The plaintiffs in the state Senate redistricting litigation filed six versions of a redrawn district map late Wednesday night, according to an email from their spokeswoman. Despite previous directions against drawing districts that cross Tampa Bay in a congressional redistricting case, their plans include areas that ‘jump the Bay.’ The plaintiffs and the Legislature have now filed proposals for consideration by Circuit Judge George Reynolds, charged with coming up with the best plan to recommend to the state Supreme Court. They had a midnight deadline.…

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Judge holds to dates for state Senate redistricting trial

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Circuit Judge George Reynolds stuck to his guns Tuesday, saying that pre-trial conference and trial dates for a state Senate redistricting challenge were “carved in stone.” Reynolds held a brief case management conference at the Leon County Courthouse, reiterating that Dec. 1 and Dec. 10 would be reserved for pre-trial, with trial remaining on Dec. 14-18. As he sat on the bench, Reynolds asked the attorneys “what news” they had. Florida Senate attorney Raoul Cantero rose to say lawmakers had failed to agree…

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Matthew Isbell: New coalition maps, DLP’S amendment, Oliva’s plan, and where things currently stand in redistricting

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A good deal has happened with the ongoing redistricting saga during the past several days. The state Senate passed its proposed districts with a controversial amendment attached. The House redistricting committee passed their own amended version of the map, and the coalition plaintiffs now have put forward three proposals. We’ll now look over each development. Coalition maps Last week, the coalition plaintiffs, who are suing the state Legislature over its state Senate district lines, released its first proposal for the…

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Don Gaetz strikes back against ‘bully’ Jack Latvala

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For the first time in recent memory, a sitting Florida senator invoked the Senate Rules during a floor session to call out a colleague specifically for impugning his integrity. State Sen. Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican and previous Senate President, raised a “question of personal privilege” to defend his honor against attacks made in the press by Clearwater Republican Jack Latvala. Latvala is vying for the next Senate presidency against Stuart Republican Joe Negron; Gaetz previously committed his support in that…

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