Since 2008, Florida has exhibited the political equivalent of a split personality, with a Democratic president twice winning the state even as Republicans racked up large majorities in the Legislature and congressional delegation.
Among the explanations for the state’s alternating political personas: Experts say it is one of the most gerrymandered in the nation, with an array of oddly shaped political districts that — evidence now shows — often were designed to maximize partisan advantage.
Now two blockbuster court cases — and a pair of constitutional amendments that paved the way for them — are earning Florida a new reputation as a state on the leading edge of efforts to rein in political gamesmanship in drawing legislative districts.
Following a string of victories by voting rights groups seeking to enforce provisions in the state constitution mandating compact districts that are not drawn to favor political parties or incumbents, Florida’s anti-gerrymandering campaign increasingly looks like one of the more successful in the nation.