MIAMI – Miami city commissioners voted Thursday to adopt a new commission map, agreed upon as part of a settlement with civil rights groups after a federal judge ruled that elected officials unconstitutionally racially gerrymandered the previous districts.
Commissioners voted 4-1 to adopt the new map.
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District 3 Commissioner Joe Carollo was the sole dissenting vote.
Under the settlement, current commissioners will be able to continue representing their current districts even if they now live outside of them.
This primarily affects Carollo, whose Coconut Grove home is now outside of his district.
Carollo’s home, along with a small section of the Grove, was controversially added to District 3 as part of the 2022 redistricting process.
The commissioner has steadfastly contended that the city did not illegally draw its districts.
The settlement includes paying nearly $1.6 million in legal fees to the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
It will also require commissioners to place a charter amendment on the ballot that “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.”
Following Thursday’s decision, the American Civil Liberties Union, which was representing the plaintiffs in this case, released a statement applauding the vote.
A federal court order states that the two parties have until May 24 to file a joint status report with the court.
The next election under the new boundaries will be in November of 2025.