LAWSUIT CHALLENGES DESANTIS PLAN TO REDRAW MAPS
- Equal Ground
- 12 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Two Florida voters are suing Governor Ron DeSantis to stop him from redrawing the state's congressional voting districts this April.
Elizabeth Pines from Miami-Dade and Eugene Pettis from Broward County filed a lawsuit saying the governor doesn't have the legal power to call for new voting maps. They argue that only the Florida Legislature can make this decision, and the governor is overstepping his authority.
Normally, states only redraw voting district maps every 10 years after the U.S. Census counts the population. This ensures fair representation for everyone. But DeSantis wants to redraw Florida's maps in the middle of the decade—something critics say is being done to give Republicans an unfair advantage in elections.
The governor claims he's doing this because an upcoming Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act could change current voting maps. He also says Florida was shortchanged a congressional seat in the 2020 Census. However, there will be no new population data before the April session.
This isn't just happening in Florida. After President Trump urged Republican states to redraw their maps to help the party keep control of Congress, several states, including Texas, North Carolina, and California, followed. Now, both Republican and Democratic states are fighting for political advantage by changing voting districts.
Currently, Florida has 28 congressional seats, and Republicans hold 20 of them. Critics worry that redrawing maps now could weaken Black voters' power and make it harder for communities of color to elect representatives who reflect their interests, especially if the Supreme Court weakens protections in the Voting Rights Act.
The National Redistricting Foundation, led by former Attorney General Eric Holder, is backing this lawsuit to protect Florida voters' rights. The decision on stopping the Governor's plan will ultimately be made by the Florida Supreme Court. The redistricting special legislative session is scheduled for April 20-24, 2026.
