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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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The Florida Constitution has rules against gerrymandering that could affect Republicans' efforts to redistrict the Sunshine State.
On Wednesday, Florida lawmakers passed Governor Ron DeSantis' new congressional map for the state, which could boost the GOP's hold on the U.S. House and escalates the high-stakes redistricting fight occurring across the country.
In 2010, Floridians passed the Fair Districts Amendments, which established standards for creating boundaries in the state. The new map, tied to President Donald Trump's nationwide push to redraw congressional lines ahead of November's midterm elections, could spark legal challenges—delaying its implementation.
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Experts told Newsweek this could create problems for DeSantis, while expressing doubt that legal challenges would happen quick enough to disrupt the current midterm cycle.
Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, told Newsweek: "This illegal, hyperpartisan new map was drawn explicitly at the request of Donald Trump and violates Florida's Fair Districts Act, which 63 percent of Florida voters enshrined in the state constitution in 2010. The Florida Constitution is explicit: Maps cannot be drawn to favor a political party. Four separate polls have reached the same conclusion: Floridians oppose gerrymandering. DeSantis is not just breaking the law—he's ignoring his own constituents to do it."
Newsweek contacted DeSantis' office by email for comment outside normal business hours.
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What Is Florida's Redistricting Plan?
The map, which DeSantis unveiled on Monday, was advanced by a Florida Senate panel and a Florida House committee on Tuesday, and then approved by the Florida Legislature on Wednesday.
The redrawn map would likely create up to four additional GOP-leaning districts. DeSantis said the update reflected population shifts since the 2020 Census and anticipated a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on how race can be considered when drawing districts.
According to political analyst Dave Wasserman, the four Democratic seats most affected by the map are Florida's 9th, 14th, 23rd and 25th congressional districts. They are held, respectively, by Representatives Darren Soto, Kathy Castor, Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Of Florida's 28 U.S. House seats, 20 are held by Republicans and seven by Democrats. A Democratic-leaning seat has been vacant since April 21, following the resignation of Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.
Amid the ongoing national redistricting fight, Republicans and Democrats alike have attempted to draw new state maps to affect the results of future votes and in turn affect the balance of power in Congress.
Earlier in April, Virginia voters approved a statewide referendum to enact a new congressional map that could net Democrats up to four additional U.S. House seats. However, the new maps have been paused pending a legal challenge. There have been redistricting efforts in states such as Texas, California, Missouri and Ohio.
What Does Florida's Constitution Say About Redistricting?
Floridians passed two amendments to the state's constitution that affect redistricting.
Article 3, Section 20 of the constitution sets "standards for establishing congressional district boundaries."
It says: "No apportionment plan or individual district shall be drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent; and districts shall not be drawn with the intent or result of denying or abridging the equal opportunity of racial or language minorities to participate in the political process or to diminish their ability to elect representatives of their choice; and districts shall consist of contiguous territory."
The text continues: "Unless compliance with the standards in this subsection conflicts with the standards in subsection (a) or with federal law, districts shall be as nearly equal in population as is practicable; districts shall be compact; and districts shall, where feasible, utilize existing political and geographical boundaries."
Section 21 sets "standards for establishing legislative district boundaries."
It says: "In establishing legislative district boundaries: No apportionment plan or district shall be drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent; and districts shall not be drawn with the intent or result of denying or abridging the equal opportunity of racial or language minorities to participate in the political process or to diminish their ability to elect representatives of their choice; and districts shall consist of contiguous territory."
The section continues: "Unless compliance with the standards in this subsection conflicts with the standards in subsection (a) or with federal law, districts shall be as nearly equal in population as is practicable; districts shall be compact; and districts shall, where feasible, utilize existing political and geographical boundaries."
Floridians passed the amendments with 63 percent of the vote in November 2010.
What Do Experts Say?
Lawyers for DeSantis said the state did not need to abide by the standards in the constitution because of a ruling last year from the state's Supreme Court, which approved the governor's 2022 redistricting map.
However, Nicholas Stephanopoulos, a professor at Harvard Law School who specializes in constitutional law, said the map was "flagrantly unconstitutional under the Fair Districts Amendments since its intent is partisan."
"DeSantis claims the entire FDA is unconstitutional, but that's just his opinion. No court has said anything remotely like that," he continued.
Andrea Bernini, an assistant professor who researches the effects of institutional reforms on political participation and representation at the University of Houston, said legal challenges to the maps were "essentially certain."
"The Fair Districts Amendments prohibit drawing congressional districts with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent, and require that minority voters' ability to elect representatives of their choice not be diminished," she said.
The midterm elections are set to take place on November 3. The deadline to file paperwork to run for Congress in Florida is June 12, with party primaries scheduled for August 18.
Bernini said it might be too late for legal efforts to prevent the new maps from taking effect: "Plaintiffs would need a preliminary injunction within roughly six weeks. Even when courts find redistricting plans unconstitutional, they are often reluctant to disrupt an election cycle that is already underway."
"The realistic scenarios are the maps go into effect for 2026 with litigation continuing in the background, or a state court issues a quick preliminary injunction and either reinstates the prior map or imposes a court-drawn interim plan. Outright invalidation before November is possible but, given the timeline and the composition of the state Supreme Court, not the most likely outcome."
Democrats' Response
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that the new map would be "blatantly unconstitutional."
Fried previously said in a statement to Newsweek: "Ron DeSantis didn't draw this map for Florida, he drew them for the only Floridian he cares about: Donald Trump.
"He would willfully break the law and screw over the people of Florida for a morsel of relevance. Today's map shows nothing but craven contempt for the voters. No one wants this; not the voters, not the legislature. There has been bipartisan opposition to this process for months. No matter what Ron does to try to rig the game, we will fight back."
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