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Florida lawmakers have already spent 12 million dollars drawing and defending the states congressional and legislative district lines only to have them ruled unconstitutional. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the cost continued to grow today as the maps drawn for state senators go on trial.

State elections supervisors told the judge they would need approved maps no later than March to begin drawing new precinct boundaries in time for next year’s election.

Democrats outnumber Republicans by four hundred thousand registered voters in Florida.

Yet Republicans outnumber Democrats 26 to 14 in the state Senate. David King, the attorney representing a coalition of voters groups suing the legislature says the lopsided numbers are no accident.

“They did agree that they violated the Constitution when they adopted map 9030, the enacted map that they passed back in 2012” King told the judge.

After admitting their maps were draw to favor the GOP, the legislature tried but failed to adopt a new map. Now a judge will decide. The Senate has offered a map which would likely elect 23 Republicans. A voters group has a map that would split the Senate 20/20.

In opening arguments, Raoul Cantera, the Senate’s six hundred ninety five dollar an hour lawyer argued the map doesn’t have to be perfect…just constitutional.

“There’s more than one way to draw a constitutional map” said Cantera as he justified the Senate’s action of drawing a half dozen maps.

But the Attorney for the voters groups says the Senate’s latest map protects the GOP majority by packing some districts with more voters.

“We will present to you, your honor, in this case, to show that these plans do benefit the Republican  party, and that alternative maps perform more fairly” says King.

No matter what map the judge here chooses, the final decision will be with the Supreme Court. The trial is expected to last through Friday.

As the State Senate and attorneys for a coalition of voters groups argued over the validity of new maps for state senate elections, State elections Supervisors had their representative in the courtroom. They worry about having enough time to run next years elections.