Congressional redistricting has long been a contested topic within American politics, and the issue is resurging in Florida right now.
Florida, like other states, normally redraws its congressional and legislative maps once a decade following the U.S. Census.
With Republicans holding a narrow majority in the U.S.House of Representatives, several GOP-led states are exploring mid-decade redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
This implicates significant legal issues and raises fundamental questions about representation, race and fairness in our state’s political process.
The argument for a new district map is based on claims of a 2020 census undercount in Florida. Not surprisingly, though, it really boils down to politics, as those pushing to reshape the map for 2026 aim to maximize GOP seats.
Advocates for a new map before the next census argue that it is necessary to prevent unlawful racial gerrymandering.
They maintain that a new configuration would better reflect constitutional limits by respecting geographic boundaries and ensuring that race is not the principal reason for drawing any of our state’s 28 districts.
Critics argue that new district lines would run afoul of Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment, which voters approved in 2010, by effectively reducing the ability of minority voters to elect candidates of their choice and fragmenting communities that had previously been united.
These opposing views parallel the difficult balance courts must strike between state and federal requirements.
Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment sets a clear non-diminishment standard, meaning minority voters’ ability to elect representatives of their choice must be preserved.
At the same time, federal equal protection principles caution against allowing race to become the predominant factor in redistricting.
In July, the Supreme Court of Florida upheld the 2022 map after it was challenged by voting rights groups.
The focus of the litigation was District 5, which, before 2022, was a long, serpentine district stretching more than 400 miles from Jacksonville (Duval County) to west of Tallahassee (Gadsden County).
It was explicitly designed to connect predominantly Black communities.
The current District 5 is significantly more compact, though it still covers a broad area to link Black communities.
The court allowed the 2022 map to stand, citing the Legislature’s conflicting obligations under state and federal law in drawing the map.
It ruled that the Equal Protection Clause constrained the state’s ability to maintain race-based districts, and that restoring the pre-2022 District 5 would constitute impermissible racial gerrymandering, as it would prioritize race over traditional redistricting principles like compactness and community interests.
Adding to the complexity of this issue in our state is Gov. Ron DeSantis’ placing himself at the forefront.
Redistricting has traditionally originated and progressed within the Legislature.
DeSantis, though, took an active role in 2022 by vetoing maps that preserved the pre-2022 District 5. He even advanced a proposed map of his own.
While his supporters applauded this as a constitutional course correction, opponents questioned whether the governor’s intervention gave one branch of government too much influence in a process that is supposed to reflect broader perspectives.
Redistricting is a hot topic in other states, including Louisiana, Texas and California.
The U.S. Supreme Court will set the tone when it rules on Louisiana v. Callais and Robinson v. Callais, consolidated cases in which the justices will decide whether to strike down Louisiana’s practice of drawing districts based on racial reasons.
The court heard oral argument in the cases Oct. 15 and a written opinion is expected by the summer.
Why should Floridians pay attention? Because once district lines are drawn, they dictate who represents us, which voices are most heard, and how decisions are made on issues that affect our daily lives.
Regardless of one’s stance on the merits of the debate, the stakes are high for our state, our communities and the trust we place in the system that governs us.
Brian Coughlin is president of the Jacksonville Bar Association for 2025-26. He is also a director at Bedell, focusing on criminal justice matters.