Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature are facing a growing legal counter-offensive after a second major lawsuit was filed to block a new congressional map signed into law this month.
The legal battles come amid an unprecedented mid-decade scramble across the country to reshape voting maps before the 2026 midterm elections.
The latest challenge, brought by the Campaign Legal Center and the UCLA Voting Rights Project on behalf of individual Florida voters, joins a previous suit by Common Cause and the League of Women Voters.
Both groups argue the new map is an unconstitutional gerrymander designed to lock in partisan gains.
New Lawsuit Targets “Unrestrained” Partisanship
The new litigation contends that Florida has joined a “race to the bottom” by implementing a map drawn behind closed doors with the explicit goal of eliminating four Democratic-held districts. Plaintiffs allege the process was “rammed through” in just two days with virtually no public input.
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“Elections should be determined by voters, not politicians who manipulate voting maps,” the Campaign Legal Center stated, arguing that the new map is “blatantly partisan” and ignores requirements to respect existing political and geographic boundaries.
The lawsuit highlights an extraordinary move by Governor DeSantis, who in his transmission of the map, suggested that certain state constitutional requirements did not apply to this mid-decade effort. Critics argue this approach left the map-drawing process completely unrestrained from partisan intent.
At the center of both legal battles is Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment. Approved by more than 60% of Florida voters in 2010, the amendment explicitly states: “No apportionment plan or individual district shall be drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent.”
Advocates argue that state-level protections like these have become essential following the 2026 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which many believe weakened federal safeguards against discriminatory maps.
The Governor’s office and legislative leaders maintain the map is a lawful response to population shifts and an effort to fix legacy districts they view as problematic. State officials have pointed to a need for “race-blind” redistricting, arguing that focusing on racial data in map-drawing—as was done in previous cycles—is no longer aligned with current judicial standards.
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During the special session, mapmakers confirmed they utilized partisan data, but argued that doing so was part of a standard suite of criteria used in other states. They contend the new map prioritizes core retention for the majority of the state while cleaning up boundaries in high-growth regions like Tampa Bay and Central Florida.
With two major lawsuits now moving through the courts, a judge will ultimately decide if the map honors the will of the voters expressed in 2010 or if the state must return to the 2022 boundaries for the upcoming 2026 elections.
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