Florida judge approves redrawn congressional maps

A Florida judge on Friday approved new congressional maps drawn by the state legislature, but ruled that the new boundaries won’t take effect until the 2016 elections.

{mosads}In July, Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis found the current maps, which were drawn by the GOP-led legislature, unconstitutional under the state’s anti-gerrymandering provisions, and ordered lawmakers to rework them.

Florida state legislators met in a special session earlier this month and produced a map that changed seven of the state’s 27 districts.

The elections in two of those districts, represented by Democrat Corrine Brown and Republican Daniel Webster, would have been thrown into uncertainty had Lewis ordered the new maps to go into effect during the current election cycle.