Florida's new Republican-drawn congressional districts will be used in this year's midterm elections after the state supreme court declined to block them, handing another victory to the GOP in a coordinated nationwide push to reshape House representation.
The court's 6-1 decision Wednesday denied a request from voters who challenged the maps as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. Rather than ruling on the substance of the dispute, the justices said they lacked the authority to intervene while the case works through lower courts.
Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier declared the outcome a "complete and total victory" on social media. The decision gives congressional candidates clarity ahead of Friday's registration deadline for August 18 primaries.
Republicans currently control 20 of Florida's 28 House seats. The new districts, signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis after a hastily arranged two-day special legislative session, could push that number to 24 by November, reshaping the competitive landscape in a state Democrats had hoped to defend.
Voting rights groups that sued vowed to continue fighting, though the legal battle may stretch years into the future. Genesis Robinson, executive director of Equal Ground, called the court's decision "an assault on democracy" and "an abdication of its duty." Amy Keith of Common Cause Florida said the map represented "a pretty clear partisan gerrymander" and pledged to work against it in future elections.
The maps hit a milestone approval on April 29, the same day the U.S. Supreme Court weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections and invalidated a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana. That timing sparked a wave of similar actions across Republican-controlled southern states seeking to eliminate Democratic-leaning minority districts.
DeSantis's office maintained that the new map used no racial data. The plan does redraw a southeastern Florida district that the governor's administration had previously crafted to help elect a Black representative in compliance with federal law. The administration framed the change as corrective action.
Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2010 banning both partisan gerrymandering and maps drawn to diminish minority voting power. The law also requires districts to be compact and respect existing political and geographic boundaries where practical. Opponents argue the new maps violate these protections, but that legal question remains unresolved.
The Florida action reflects a broader Republican strategy unfolding across multiple states this cycle. Rather than waiting for the next census in 2030, GOP-led legislatures are redrawing lines mid-decade to shore up House control before November. DeSantis had called lawmakers into special session in anticipation of eventual court approval, confident the outcome would bend his way.
Author James Rodriguez: "The GOP's ability to lock in these maps without meaningful judicial review shows how much the redistricting landscape has shifted in Republicans' favor, and how little democratic protection voters actually have once their state swings Republican."
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