Senate President Don Gaetz (R-Niceville) and House Speaker Will Weatherford (R-Wesley Chapel) today issued the following joint statement regarding the recent court decision issued by Judge Terry Lewis on the Florida Congressional map.

“We respect the deliberative and thorough manner in which Judge Lewis approached the trial on the Florida Congressional map.

“While the court directed that Congressional Districts 5 and 10 be redrawn, the court rejected the Plaintiffs’ challenge to eight other districts, thereby upholding 25 of 27 congressional districts statewide and leaving intact the vast majority of the actions taken by the Legislature.

“The Legislature does not presently intend to initiate an appeal of the Court's decision and will redraw the boundaries of Congressional Districts 5 and 10.

“Today, we have asked Judge Lewis to clarify, as a legal and practical matter, that his decision does not affect the administration of the 2014 election. According to federal law, over 63,000 Florida military and overseas voters are already casting absentee ballots based on the current Congressional map. Next week, hundreds of thousands of printed absentee ballots will be mailed to in-state voters. Any attempt to change the districts at this late stage of the 2014 elections process would cause chaos and confusion and would threaten the rights of our deployed military voters. It has been the practice in other states and in Florida to remedy maps at a future election so as not to disrupt and disenfranchise voters. We believe such action is appropriate and is in the best interest of Florida, and particularly our deployed military servicemen and servicewomen, who are casting their votes now.”