Florida makes late entry into redistricting, passing map favoring Republicans
Florida’s state senators narrowly approved a new congressional map Wednesday that Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, proposed during the special legislative session. Once enacted, the map would strengthen Republicans’ chances of winning more seats in the November midterm election.
DeSantis will now decide the fate of his own map after lawmakers in the Florida legislature approved his congressional map, which restructured districts to strengthen Republicans’ chances ahead of the midterm election. His effort is the latest in a national fight for, or against, President Donald Trump’s mid-decade redistricting push.
Redistricting, the act of redrawing congressional maps, typically happens after states receive updated population counts from the decennial census. Those results have decimated and increased states’ U.S. House districts across the nation.
The map passed in Florida’s House by an 83 to 28 vote, and in the State Senate by a 21 to 17 vote, according to vote records. The state has eight Democratic Representatives in the House (including ex-Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick) and 20 Republican Representatives.
“The proposed congressional map that EOG now submits does not take race into consideration at all,” according to an April 27 letter DeSantis’ General Counsel David Axelman sent to lawmakers. “Race was neither a predominant factor nor one of many factors.”
Democrats rebuffed the governor’s map and accused Republicans of violating the state constitution, which requires lawmakers to draw fair maps under the Fair Districts Amendment. Axelman noted in his letter that the map doesn’t adhere to the law because race was not a factor in drawing the districts.
“I have been watching the Fla Legislature for decades,” Florida Democrats Chair Nikki Fried wrote on X Wednesday. “I’ve never seen a bill pass and no one claps. They all know that this was wrong, unconstitutional, illegal and violated their oath’s of office.”
Once signed, the map would slant the advantage Republicans have in November in their favor, with a projected net of four additional seats.
The count doesn’t include Louisiana, which was ordered Wednesday to redraw maps after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a map that had two Black-majority districts. It takes into account the seats Democrats are projected to take in Virginia as the state’s high court hasn’t yet ruled on the Democrat-controlled legislature’s map.
System replicates California
The manner in which Florida lawmakers passed the map mimics what California politicians did before a referendum vote.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, presented a map to the state legislature that created five districts his party could win in November. He and other lawmakers positioned the map as one to counteract efforts in Texas, where Republicans created a possible five-seat advantage.
California lawmakers and Newsom announced last August plans to introduce a legislative package to combat Trump’s redistricting plan. The plan was formally introduced in the legislature, then passed several days later on Aug. 21 in the Senate and Assembly under suspended rules.
The bill was then filed with the Secretary of State to trigger a statewide election on what’s known as Proposition 50. It passed with 5.1 million votes in favor and 2.9 million against.
Despite similarities, Newsom accused DeSantis of ignoring Florida voters. California’s maps are drawn by a citizen-led commission while Florida allows anyone in the legislature to redraw maps.
“Ron DeSantis just rammed out a gerrymandered MAGA map that openly violates his own state constitution — and leaked it to Fox News before he gave it to the legislature,” Newsom wrote Tuesday on X. “California let voters decide. Virginia did too. DeSantis won’t. He’s rigging the map because he knows he can’t win on a fair one.”
Round out your reading
- Scientists unearth new evidence on how the Grand Canyon was shaped.
- Why the Army is adding a second fitness test for combat.
- Illegal midwives, growing demand: The fight over home birth in America.
- 40 years after Chernobyl, the U.S. pushes nuclear power once again.
- We’re building a new Straight Arrow. Help us shape our future by taking our survey.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
