TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Hundreds of pages of secret emails show a handful of Republican political consultants' efforts to influence Florida's redistricting process.
The Scripps-Tribune Capital Bureau reports Sunday, emails it obtained show former state Sen. John Thrasher did not live in his district, despite his claims to the contrary. The documents also outline GOP consultants' strategy to recruit regular people to submit redistricting maps identical to their own maps.
The Gainesville consulting firm Data Targeting sought to block the emails' release, but the Florida Supreme Court ruled earlier this month they must be unsealed. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an 11th hour appeal Friday. The documents were to go public Dec. 1, part of a lawsuit alleging lawmakers drew 2012 congressional maps favoring Republicans. Many of the emails also referenced statehouse districts.
