Inside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ War on Black Voters

It’s no secret that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has a contentious relationship with Black People. And the Republican Governor definitely didn’t assist his case when he went on a tirade towards African American research. However a few of his extra public strikes apart, it’s what he’s completed to voting rights within the state that has bought Black Floridians on edge.

Since coming into workplace, DeSantis has waged an unprecedented assault on Black voters and Black political energy in Florida.The accusations towards DeSantis embody allegations that he gerrymandered Black voting energy into oblivion and pushed via voting restrictions in an try to scare and confuse Black voters into staying dwelling.

Let’s begin together with his gerrymandering technique. We now have ample reporting from ProPublica and The Guardian that DeSantis was deeply concerned in redrawing the brand new congressional district maps final yr. In keeping with reporting from The Guardian, DeSantis’s new map not solely closely favored Republicans, however it additionally reduce the variety of districts the place Black voters had an opportunity to elect a candidate in half.

In a lawsuit, the Florida GOP was accused of utilizing a two-pronged disenfranchisement technique often known as “cracking” and “packing” in predominantly Black districts. To simplify it just a little, “cracking” refers to splitting a minority group amongst new districts to dilute their political energy. So, for instance, the brand new map cut up Black voters in Jacksonville into two totally different maps, diminishing their potential to choose a candidate. “Packing” is the other technique. Basically, you “pack” as many minority voters into one or two districts so you may restrict the variety of seats the group can get in Congress. The litigation remains to be ongoing, so we’ll see how that shakes out.

Gerrymandering isn’t the one assault on Black political energy. Final yr, the Justice Division sued the Florida GOP over new voting restrictions, which they mentioned deliberately focused Black voters. The restrictions induced chaos in November for Black Floridians who apprehensive about operating afoul of the regulation.

Though he hasn’t introduced, DeSantis remains to be thought of a contender for the Republican Presidential major. The warfare he’s waged towards Black political energy in Florida could possibly be a troubling window right into a DeSantis presidency.