MIAMI, FL – Today, local civil rights, community groups, and Miami residents applaud the Miami City Commission’s approval of an agreement to conclude a racial gerrymandering lawsuit over the city’s district map. The agreement secures a fair map for the rest of this decade and proposes lasting reforms to the city’s redistricting process that will be submitted to the voters in a charter referendum.
Under the agreement, the City will adopt a map drawn by the plaintiffs – Plaintiffs’ Map 5 or “P5” – unifies neighborhoods across the city, including Coconut Grove, Overtown, Allapattah, and Edgewater. These neighborhoods were divided along racial lines, and will now remain intact as residents advocated for during multiple redistricting processes.
“We’re thankful that the commission finally put an end to our racial gerrymandering lawsuit,” said Rebecca Pelham, executive director of Engage Miami. “This is a new day for the City of Miami. This charter amendment will give greater voice to all Miami residents in the redistricting process.”
The agreement resolves the case GRACE, Inc. v. City of Miami, which challenged the Miami City Commission’s maps for unconstitutionally dividing neighborhoods along racial lines and undermining fair representation. The case was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) of Florida and Dechert LLP on behalf of local organizations: Grove Rights and Community Equity, Engage Miami, the Miami-Dade and South Dade NAACP Branches, and five individual residents.
“Our clients fought for district lines that were fair to the communities that make up our multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and multi-cultural city. The power to ensure a stronger and fairer democracy will be back in the hands of Miami voters– not politicians,” said Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. “For generations, deeply flawed redistricting policies have led to racial gerrymandering that harms Black people and communities of color, limiting their political power. For our country to truly live up to the promise of democracy, the redistricting process – whether for Congress, the state legislature, or city commissions – must ensure fair and equal representation for all people. Today settles an important win for our state’s democracy.”
The settlement requires the city to place a charter amendment on the November 2025 ballot for voter approval. The charter amendment will ban gerrymandering that favors particular candidates and incumbents and will create a Citizens’ Redistricting Committee to draft maps and propose them to the Commission in all future redistricting processes.
The agreement will be submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida for final approval and entry of a consent decree.
The P5 map can be viewed here and on Google Maps at this link.
