A Tallahassee judge heard arguments Friday in the opening battle over Ron DeSantis' push to overturn Florida's anti-gerrymandering rules, with attorneys for advocacy groups demanding an immediate halt to new congressional lines that would create four additional Republican seats.
The dispute centers on a blunt admission. Jason Pereda, the map-drawer hired by DeSantis' administration, testified under oath last month that he used political data when crafting the districts. That statement has become the centerpiece of the legal challenge, with three separate lawsuits arguing the maps violate the Fair Districts amendments that Florida voters approved in 2010 with 63% support.
"This case is unusual because the map-drawer admitted on the public record that the districts were drawn with partisan data and without the need to comply with the Fair Districts amendments," Christina Ford, an attorney with Equal Ground, told the court.
DeSantis and his legal team have taken a different tack. They argue that the Fair Districts language now conflicts with federal law, particularly following a Supreme Court decision that sharply restricted the use of race in redistricting decisions. Under that reasoning, DeSantis contends, his administration had no obligation to follow the state constitutional protections.
The governor's broader goal is to carry this fight to the Florida Supreme Court and convince those justices to strike down the Fair Districts provisions altogether.
During a hearing lasting more than two hours, the state's attorneys pushed back against calls for a temporary injunction to block the new maps. Mohammad Jazil, representing both Secretary of State Cord Byrd and DeSantis, argued that Pereda's testimony had been stripped of context.
"Pereda was up there for hours explaining in painstaking detail how he drew the map," Jazil said. "Plaintiffs want to ignore all that, focus on one statement that talks about partisan awareness."
The plaintiffs countered that any deliberate partisan intent crosses a constitutional line. Simone Leeper, arguing for the Campaign Legal Center, made the point directly: "Any level of improper partisan intent is too much."
The new maps represent a dramatic shift in Florida's congressional balance. Republicans currently hold 20 of the state's 28 seats. The DeSantis-drawn lines would deliver them 24 seats, a gain that reflects the governor's role in a broader Republican push to redraw districts mid-decade. That effort began in Texas and has since spread to a handful of states, with Republicans emerging with a substantial overall advantage heading into the 2026 elections.
Challengers pointed to specific patterns that they say reveal partisan calculations. In Northeast Florida, one of the state's fastest-growing regions and currently held by Republicans, the new map leaves those seats largely untouched. But in the Tampa Bay area, where growth has been slower, significant changes include redrawing the district of Rep. Kathy Castor, the only Democrat in the region.
"The reason the map does that is because its goal is to target Democrats and favor Republicans," argued Chris Shenton, representing Common Cause Florida.
The state pushed back against a temporary block, citing logistics. The 2026 primary qualifying period opens May 25, and DeSantis' team argued that adopting new maps so close to that deadline would cause unnecessary disruption. They contended the case should proceed to trial with the new maps in place.
Plaintiffs disputed that concern, noting that the current maps, drawn by DeSantis in 2022, have been used for the past two election cycles and could simply remain in place during litigation without creating substantial problems.
Judge Joshua Hawkes did not rule from the bench. He said he would issue a written order addressing the request for a temporary injunction, leaving both sides waiting for his decision on whether the new maps can go forward immediately or whether the current lines must hold pending the outcome of the full legal challenge.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Pereda's own testimony on the record has turned this into one of the cleanest partisan gerrymandering cases in recent memory, and DeSantis knows it, which is why his team is already planning their Supreme Court exit strategy."
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