Judge rejects Miami voting map, adopts new boundaries that pose a problem for Carollo

A federal judge has ordered the city of Miami to adopt a new voting map that is expected to shake up city politics ahead of the November elections. The new map removes one commissioner’s home out of his district and allows a candidate in another part of the city to step back into the race after a previous city map had drawn him out earlier this summer.

On Sunday, U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore ordered the city to implement a voting map that shifts the boundaries of Miami’s five commission districts, including changes that impact who will vote — and who can run — in three races to elect commissioners in districts 1, 2 and 4 in November. District 1 Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla, District 2 Commissioner Sabina Covo and District 4 Commissioner Manolo Reyes are running for reelection.

In the new map, Commissioner Joe Carollo’s Coconut Grove home is outside of his district and in Covo’s district. It’s unclear how soon Carollo would be required to move into his current District 3 to comply with city laws that require commissioners to live inside the district they represent.

On Sunday, Carollo told the Miami Herald he is complying with the city’s residency requirement, though he declined to discuss specifics. He did not say if he planned to move, though he suggested he’s considering legal avenues.

“Whatever plans I have, I’m certainly not going to share them with you,” he told a reporter. “Read case laws.”

City Attorney Victoria Méndez did not answer questions about Carollo’s residency. In a statement Sunday evening, Méndez only said the city plans to appeal.

“We appreciate the Court’s valuable insight into the City’s Redistricting process, but the Court waited to long in making this determination pursuant to case law,” Méndez said. “The Court did not truly give the City Commission the presumption of good faith with regard to their legislative functions.”

Read more: Miami is fighting to block new court-ordered voting map before the November election

Under the judge’s order, the city must transmit the new map to the Miami-Dade County Elections Department on Monday. Elections officials had set Aug. 1 as the deadline for a map to administer the November elections. It’s unclear if the city can prevent the map from being used for these elections.

The new map allows Miguel Gabela, an auto parts retailer, to challenge Díaz de la Portilla in District 1. In June, the commission had approved a map that didn’t include Gabela’s home, which threatened to curtail a campaign he began in February. On Sunday, Gabela said he was glad to be back in the race, though the shifting boundaries will force him to campaign in new areas while losing supporters elsewhere.

“I’ve lost Grapeland Heights and part of Flagami, where I’ve been walking since February,” he said.

ACLU makes its case

The new map was drawn by attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union representing a coalition of Miami residents and advocacy groups who sued the city challenging new district lines that commissioners approved in 2022. The groups accused the city of adopting an unconstitutional, racially gerrymandered map meant to preserve a city commission with three Hispanic members, one Black member and one “anglo” member in a seat that has previously been held by a non-Hispanic white commissioner.

The ACLU attorneys challenged the philosophy that drove the city’s voting map for years in an effort to upend the thinking that fair racial representation on the City Commission requires packing Black and Hispanic voters into certain districts.

“The court got it right today by ordering a map that protects the will of the people,” said Nicholas Warren, one of the lawyers on the case. “Today is a big win for racial justice and democracy in Miami.”

Some commissioners said the redistricting lawsuit was less about a fair voting map and more about political ideology.

Carollo said the plaintiffs and their attorneys have mounted a partisan effort to redraw the city districts to better position liberals in city politics, so that more left-leaning candidates have a better chance to win city elections.

“They took precincts that have performed well for liberal candidates and cut them up with enough in each district to try to turn more conservative commissioners that are being elected into much more liberal ones,” he said.

The city’s mayor and commissioners hold nonpartisan seats, under the city charter.

Reyes said he voted for the 2022 map to preserve the racial and ethnic balance on the board, and though he said a commissioner’s political affiliation is irrelevant to their work in City Hall, he echoed Carollo’s concerns.

“My main concern is that we have diversity on the dais,” Reyes said. “But it seems that diversity was exchanged for partisanship.”

Big changes in some districts

Up for reelection this year, Reyes will also have new faces in his district. He said he’s losing more than 50% of his current district population under the new plan, though he’s confident in his record of improving parks, fixing roads and promoting new housing developments.

“I’m available to serve my new residents, and I welcome everyone and commit to work hard like I have been doing in Shenandoah, Silver Bluff and Golden Pines, which were part of my district,” he said.

In May, the judge blocked the 2022 plan and ordered the city to draw a temporary map that would comply with the Voting Rights Act. The commission approved a plan in June, prompting objections from the ACLU. After arguments from both sides, the judge on Sunday ordered the city to adopt the ACLU’s preferred map.

The map is a temporary solution while the lawsuit continues. The case is expected to go to trial in 2024.

Yanelis Valdes, an individual plaintiff and advocacy director at Engage Miami, praised the judge’s order in a statement Sunday.

“It’s a new day for Miami voters who will finally have a fair say in our elections,” Valdes said. “The court’s decision to reject the city’s gerrymander and order the plaintiffs’ map means Miami’s communities will get fair representation in government this November.”