GOP suit: Florida redistricting law equals 'thought policing'

[d_legendary1]

Two Florida Republican Party officials have filed a federal lawsuit to block the state’s anti-gerrymandering constitutional clauses, arguing the provisions limit First Amendment speech and amount to “thought policing.”

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday night in the conservative-leaning Pensacola division of the Northern District of Florida, comes less than a week before the start of a special legislative session to redraw some of the state’s 27 congressional districts.

Citing email correspondence from GOP consultants, the Florida Supreme Court ruled last month that at least eight congressional districts were improperly drawn and violated the 2010 voter-approved “Fair Districts” amendments that prohibited lawmakers from intentionally drawing political boundaries to favor or disfavored political parties or incumbents.

But Pasco County Republican Party chairman Randy Maggard and his Walton County counterpart, Tim Norris, say the amendments themselves infringe on their right to free speech. They also say the court’s interpretation of the law ultimately violates their Fourteenth Amendment due process rights because members of political parties are unfairly limited in speaking with elected representatives about redistricting in the future.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/gop-suit-florida-redistricting-law-equals-thought-policing-121039.html

I wonder what would happen if this made it to the SCOTUS...

[DetlefK]

1. A programmer could write you a non-partisan and fair algorithm for redistricting within a month.

Enter the population-numbers, enter natural borders like rivers, enter a condition to make each district as compact as possible, and go.

But noooooooooo, let humans who have a stake in redistricting do the redistricting.

[d_legendary1]

2. I was under the same impression you are

that the state would hire someone like that programmer. Somehow the cons have turned this into a first amendment issue... Words can't explain this.

[Gothmog]

3. This legal theory makes no sense

[d_legendary1]

4. Ditto

I don't understand what thought policing means.

This is the only thing that comes to mind.