DeSantis signs Florida's new Congressional map that could cost Democrats seats

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Monday a new congressional map – drawn by his staff and passed by the Legislature last week – that could help Republicans retain the U.S. House.

“Signed, sealed, and delivered,” DeSantis wrote in a post on X.

The new map makes significant changes to 21 of Florida’s 28 congressional districts, a shift that could flip four seats from Democrats to Republicans.

Republicans currently hold a 217-212 advantage over Democrats in the U.S. House, with one independent member and five vacant seats.

President Donald Trump last year urged GOP-led states to redraw their maps to favor Republicans and give them a better chance of keeping hold of the U.S. House. Texas was the first state to do so, but Democratic-led states like California responded, sparking a tit-for-tat redistricting battle ahead of the midterms.

Democrats have decried the move, saying it’s a blatantly illegal power grab in violation of the state’s anti-gerrymandering Fair Districts laws.

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“We will not back down and allow Ron Desantis to violate Florida’s Constitution,” Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried posted on X. “These are unconstitutional and violate Florida’s 2010 Fair District Amendment. The fight has just begun.”

Voters approved the Fair District amendment in 2010, which prohibits drawing districts to favor or disfavor incumbents or political parties.

But DeSantis’ general counsel, in a memo to lawmakers ahead of the special session, said the amendment is unenforceable due to a 2025 ruling from the Florida Supreme Court. That ruling knocked down the part of the amendment that banned drawing districts that would diminish the ability for minority groups to elect a candidate of their choice, but left the rest of the amendment intact.

Voting rights groups have pledged to quickly file legal challenges to block the new maps from taking effect, but there’s little time for the courts to intervene. Qualifying for the U.S. House races starts June 8 at noon and ends June 12 at noon.

DeSantis has pointed to the increase in Florida’s population since the 2020 U.S. Census, and what he says was an error in the tabulations that led to Florida receiving only one new congressional district after the census instead of two as reasons for redrawing the map. Florida, though, has had surges in population in recent history and hasn’t conducted a mid-decade redistricting without a court order.

But the primary reason for the redraw was a pending U.S. Supreme Court decision on a redistricting case out of Louisiana. That decision was issued last week, just as lawmakers were debating the redrawing on the floor.

The 6-3 decision undercut the part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that allowed for legislatures to draw maps to ensure representation from racial minority groups. The VRA remains intact but it is more difficult to bring a lawsuit asking courts to redraw minority access districts.

DeSantis anticipated the ruling would eliminate the VRA, but still said he was vindicated by the court’s decision. He had pointed to District 20 in Broward and Palm Beach counties as a racial gerrymander to favor Black voters. The new District 20 is entirely within Broward County.