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Florida allowed to keep new districts
A Florida judge ruled the state's new congressional districts will stay in place for the 2026 midterm elections.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida’s new congressional districts will remain in place ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Leon Circuit Judge Joshua Hawkes rejected a challenge Tuesday from voting rights groups and voters who wanted the map thrown out.
The map was drawn by an aide for Gov. Ron DeSantis and passed by Florida’s Republican-led Legislature.
Why the groups sued
Common Cause and Equal Ground Education Fund argued the map was designed to help Republicans pick up seats in the U.S. House.
They pointed to statements from Jason Poreda, a DeSantis aide who drew the districts. Poreda said he used partisan data during the process.
Florida’s constitution bars lawmakers from drawing districts with the intent to favor or hurt a political party or an incumbent. Voters added that protection in 2010 through the Fair Districts Amendment.
What they're saying:
Hawkes ruled the groups did not show the previous map, passed in 2022, would be constitutional if the new map were struck down.
The ruling also focused on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision involving Louisiana. That decision weakened part of the Voting Rights Act that allowed states to draw districts based on race to address historic discrimination.
READ: Trump, GOP congressional map plans dealt big blows in Alabama and South Carolina
Lawyers for DeSantis and the Legislature argued that ruling means Florida’s previous Congressional District 20, a South Florida seat that favored Black voters, is unconstitutional.
"To the extent the Court has to balance Florida’s FDA prohibition of improper partisan intent and the United States Constitution’s Equal Protection guarantees, it seems clear that the potential partisan intent in the 2026 map is the lesser of the two evils," Hawkes wrote.
What's next:
The voting rights groups said they plan to appeal.
"We will continue our fight to protect the will of Floridians who overwhelmingly voted to ban partisan gerrymandering in this state," Common Cause Florida Executive Director Amy Keith said in a statement. "Because Floridians of all political backgrounds are so clearly against partisan gerrymandering, we will exhaust all legal options to make sure a map this partisan does not last the rest of this decade."
Any successful appeal would have to move quickly to affect the 2026 midterms.
Qualifying for U.S. House seats begins June 8 at noon and ends June 12 at noon.
Big picture view:
Florida passed the new map during a national fight over redistricting.
President Donald Trump urged Republican-led states last year to approve new maps to help the GOP keep control of the U.S. House.
Republicans narrowly control the chamber. Democrats could take control if they flip a handful of seats in the midterms.
Texas was the first state to act after Trump’s push. Democratic-led states, including California, later responded with maps favoring their own party.
DeSantis’ office also sent the new Florida map to Fox News before submitting it to the Legislature. Based on 2024 election results, the map showed Republicans could gain four seats in Florida.
Hawkes’ ruling did not address that partisan map or the national redistricting fight.
The Source: This story is based on a Leon Circuit Court ruling, statements from Common Cause Florida, court arguments from the voting rights groups and lawyers for Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature, and reporting from Gray Rohrer in Tallahassee.