Legal battle over state Senate districts coming to an end

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A contentious battle over Florida state senate districts is coming to an end.

The Florida Senate is not going to appeal a redistricting ruling handed down in December. Circuit Judge George Reynolds in that decision signed off on a map drawn by a coalition of voting rights groups.

This decision means that that Republicans could lose control of the state Senate. That’s because the map chosen by Reynolds is split nearly evenly between GOP and Democratic-leaning districts and will likely create four South Florida seats that could be won by Hispanic candidates.

Senate President Andy Gardiner decided to accept the ruling after discussing the ruling with attorneys and Sen. Bill Galvano. Galvano said he concluded that it would not be “prudent” to pursue an appeal.

Voting rights groups back in 2012 sued over the existing Senate districts.