Governor says new district lines will likely be required following a pending Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that he will call a special legislative session in spring 2026 to redraw the state’s congressional map, citing an expected U.S. Supreme Court decision that could mandate revisions to Florida’s current district lines.
In an interview with Floridian publisher Javier Manjarres, DeSantis said the timing of the special session depends on the Court’s forthcoming ruling on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which was argued in October and could reshape how minority representation is applied in redistricting cases.
“Yeah, yeah, so we’re going to redistrict,” DeSantis said, according to The Floridian. “The issue is that there is a Supreme Court decision that we are waiting on — the argument in October about Section 2 of the VRA [Voting Rights Act] that impacts Florida’s maps, so we’re going to do it next spring.”
DeSantis added that he plans to coordinate with Florida Senate President Ben Albritton on scheduling, signaling that the session will likely take place between March and May. “I am going to talk to Sen. Albritton about when it makes sense to do it, but that will be done,” he said. “I think we are going to be required to do it because of this court decision.”
The Washington Examiner noted that DeSantis’s comments position Florida within a growing national wave of mid-decade redistricting as both parties maneuver ahead of the 2026 midterms. Republicans argue that states such as New York, Illinois, and California have aggressively gerrymandered maps favoring Democrats, and that GOP-led states must respond in kind to remain competitive.
Florida’s House leadership has already taken steps toward the effort. In September, House Speaker Daniel Perez created a Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting, chaired by Rep. Mike Redondo and composed of a Republican majority and three Democrats. The committee is slated to hold its first meeting on December 4, The Floridian reported.
Public radio outlet WFSU observed that mid-decade redistricting is rare, typically occurring only once per census cycle, but described an emerging “arms race” among states testing the outer limits of redistricting authority before 2026.
Evan Power, chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, told the outlet that he believes Florida could gain additional congressional seats through updated maps, calling “three to five” a “reasonable expectation.”
Democrats and left-leaning advocacy groups have already begun mobilizing against the plan. Florida House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell denounced the move as a partisan attempt to entrench Republican power, warning that it may violate the state’s Fair Districts amendment, adopted by voters in 2010 to prevent political gerrymandering.
Organizations such as the ACLU of Florida and the Southern Poverty Law Center have reportedly organized protests at the state Capitol in anticipation of the special session.
Republicans, however, contend that redistricting fairness should apply equally across states. As DeSantis’s allies frame it, Florida’s move is both defensive and strategic — ensuring that the state is not, as one lawmaker put it, “fighting on an uneven playing field while blue states rewrite their maps.”
If the Supreme Court’s forthcoming decision alters the legal standards for drawing districts under the Voting Rights Act, Florida’s special session could set the stage for one of the most consequential redistricting battles ahead of the 2026 elections.
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