Together with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida and Southern Poverty Law Center, ELC is representing the Jacksonville Branch of the NAACP, the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, the Northeast Chapter of the ACLU of Florida, Florida Rising, and ten individual city residents challenging several of Jacksonville’s newly drawn City Council and School Board districts. The City Council unconstitutionally packed four City Council districts and two School Board districts with Black voters, and stripped Black voters out of adjacent districts, diminishing Black political influence in the City.

VICTORY: On May 30, 2023, the court approved the settlement agreement in Jacksonville Branch of the NAACP v. City of Jacksonville. This approval cements the Plaintiffs’ successes and ensures fairer representation for Black voters in Jacksonville.

On May 12, 2023, Plaintiffs moved for approval of the settlement agreement between the parties in a joint motion submitted to the district court.

VICTORY: On January 6, 2023, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals once again denied the City’s request to stay the order of the district court. We are pleased the Court of Appeals stood by the Judge Howard's well-reasoned ruling and that Jacksonville residents will vote under fairer maps this March.

VICTORY: On December 19, 2022 A court rejected Jacksonville City’s remedial redistricting plan, agreeing with Plaintiffs it does not cure the unconstitutional racial gerrymander of the original map. Instead, the court adopted the Plaintiffs’ P3 map

On November 18, 2022, we filed an opposition brief arguing Jacksonville City's remedial redistricting plans don't cure the racial gerrymandering of the original map (that was preliminarily struck down by the Court earlier this year).

On November 7, 2022, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Jacksonville City's request to stay the order requiring fair maps for Jaxons.

On November 4, 2022, we filed a response opposing Jacksonville City’s emergency stay request to the 11th Circuit to preserve the victory of our clients and ensure next year’s City Council elections are held under fair maps.

VICTORY: On October 12, 2022, the court granted the preliminary injunction and blocked Jacksonville city council and school board maps that pack together Black communities. The case will proceed to a full trial, but in the meantime, a court has ordered the Jacksonville City Council to draw and implement new maps that are not racially gerrymandered. These new maps must be in place before the scheduled City Council elections in 2023. Rosemary McCoy, Jacksonville resident and one of the plaintiffs in the suit reacted to the decision saying “It is vital for that we fight for fair representation at every level of government, and that is why we are glad to see the court block discriminatory maps and order fairer maps for the 2023 and 2024 elections. Maps that give Black communities an equal voice will be vital for securing equal investment, equal funding and equal attention for our communities from our city government.”

On July 22, 2022, ELC, along with its collaborators, requested that the federal court issue a preliminary injunction blocking implementation of the City Council and school board districts. The injunction would provide immediate relief for Black communities, whose voices have been systematically diminished through racial gerrymandering. The court filing relies on statements and documents from the city council members themselves, along with expert analysis to give a powerful account of what racial gerrymandering has meant for residents of Jacksonville—past and present. The court held a hearing in September on the question of whether to issue the injunction.

BACKGROUND

Following the 2020 Census, the Jacksonville City Council enacted new district plans, redrawing the voting districts for the next decade. In passing these maps, the Council impermissibly packed Black residents into four Council Districts. As a result, the Council also ensured an artificially high white population in three adjacent districts. 

The Council has no reason to do this that survives legal scrutiny. It was unnecessary for Voting Rights Act compliance, and the Council made no efforts to analyze the level of Black population needed for Black voters to have the opportunity to elect their candidates of choice. Instead, the Council set uninformed racial targets and subordinated traditional redistricting criteria to improper racial considerations. 

This racial gerrymandering violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit also challenges the maps as illegal under the City Charter, which requires districts to be logical and compact. 

The packed districts snake through the City to capture as many Black voters as possible, making their Black populations artificially high. The Black populations of the surrounding districts are simultaneously depressed because they carefully avoid concentrations of Black voters. As a consequence, most of Jacksonville’s Black voters are segregated into just four of fourteen districts, depressing their influence over City Council elections overall. 

Upon the order granting the preliminary injunction motion, other plaintiffs reacted: 

“With new maps that accurately represent Jacksonville and provide a fairer voice to Black communities, residents across the city can have hope for positive changes and equal opportunity to bring their needs to the City Council,” said Isaiah Rumlin, president of the Jacksonville Branch of the NAACP. “We appreciate the court affirming our right to fair representation by blocking the racially gerrymandered maps, and we look forward to continuing to advocate for Jacksonville communities.” 

“The court’s decision to block maps that pack Black communities into too few districts represents positive change for Jacksonville,” said Ben Frazier, president of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville. “We now hope for maps that give us fair representation and an equal voice to advocate for the prosperity of our communities.” 

“We are proud of our friends and neighbors who stood up to advocate for their voting rights and achieved this win for fair representation in Jacksonville,” said ACLU of Florida Northeast board member BeJae Shelton. “They have made a positive difference for Jacksonville communities, who will now have an equal voice in their city government.” 

“We are glad the court blocked city maps that failed to represent Jacksonville communities and diminished the voices of Black voters,” said Moné Holder, Senior Director of Advocacy & Programs of Florida Rising. “We deserve maps that give an equal voice to all Jacksonville residents so every community can receive the attention and investment that it needs.”