Florida congressional map survives first court test

A Leon County Circuit Judge keeps Florida’s congressional map in place while lawsuits proceed and election officials prepare for 2026 races. The judge finds plaintiffs have not shown a substantial likelihood of success, stating that a mapmaker’s use of partisan data is circumstantial evidence rather than direct proof of illegal intent. The judge says forcing Florida back to its 2022 map on a rushed record would be improper because election operations are already underway and the primary is less than three months away. The dispute is expected to end at the Florida Supreme Court, where DeSantis appointed six of seven justices. The map fight aligns with a broader national redistricting trend favoring Republicans, supported by U.S. Supreme Court actions against race-conscious districts.

"A Leon County Circuit Judge Joshua Hawkes, a DeSantis appointee, keeps DeSantis' map in place while the lawsuits continue and election officials prepare for the 2026 races. Hawkes found plaintiffs had not shown a substantial likelihood of success, writing that mapmaker Jason Poreda's use of partisan data was circumstantial evidence, not direct proof of illegal intent. He said forcing Florida back to its 2022 map on a rushed record would be improper, especially with the state's election machinery already underway and the primary less than three months away."

"The fight likely ends at the Florida Supreme Court, where DeSantis appointed six of seven justices and all seven were appointed by Republican governors. Hawkes found plaintiffs had not shown a substantial likelihood of success, writing that mapmaker Jason Poreda's use of partisan data was circumstantial evidence, not direct proof of illegal intent. He said forcing Florida back to its 2022 map on a rushed record would be improper, especially with the state's election machinery already underway and the primary less than three months away."

"DeSantis' map lands in a national redistricting fight that is moving fast and mostly in Republicans' direction. The U.S. Supreme Court strengthened GOP arguments against race-conscious districts. Virginia's pro-Democratic gerrymander was struck down by its state Supreme Court. Louisiana is expected to convert one of its two Black Democratic seats into a Republican seat. Tennessee has already eliminated its last Democratic, Black-majority seat. South Carolina is weighing doing the same."

"In 2010 nearly 63% of Florida voters approved a ban on partisan gerrymandering, but DeSantis' general counsel told lawmakers the state doesn't have to abide by that ban. Flashback: DeSantis already remade Florida's congressional map once. In 2022, he vetoed the Legislature's map, pushed lawmakers to pass his own and helped produce a delegation of 20 Republicans and just eight Democrats. This year, his office drew the replacement map, sent it to lawmakers and provided Axios a version colored red and blue by partisan performance."

Read at Axios