TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – The House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting met Thursday for the first time to discuss redrawing Florida’s 28 congressional seats, though lawmakers do not yet have a proposed map.
Florida has joined other states where lawmakers are considering changing congressional maps ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
“Redistricting is a matter that affects every Floridian and is a matter that is vital to the functioning of our constitutional republic,” said Rep. Mike Redondo, R-Miami.
President Donald Trump has asked Republican-leaning states to redraw their boundaries as part of an attempt to hold on to their slim majority in Congress. Four states have given more seats to Republicans, and several others are considering it.
“We may ultimately decide to propose a new congressional map based on our exploration or we may not. But if we do, we will do so in a timely manner,” Redondo said.
Opposition from voting rights groups
Republicans currently hold 20 of the state’s 28 seats. The U.S. Supreme Court has said there is no federal ban on political gerrymandering, but the state constitution does prohibit it.
About a hundred people were at the Capitol Thursday to remind lawmakers of that restriction.
“Regardless of what other states are doing, regardless of how they are positioning themselves, the Florida voters have told their legislatures they don’t want their districts drawn for partisan reasons,” said Genesis Robinson, executive director of Equal Ground.
Robinson said there is no need to redraw the maps now.
“There’s no reason we should be here drawing maps after just going through a contentious redraw back in 2022,” Robinson said.
Governor prefers waiting for special session
Governor Ron DeSantis has criticized the House effort during the upcoming legislative session. He would like to see lawmakers wait for a special session in the spring, allowing the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on challenges in other states.
“We’re going to be forced to do it, I think, because the Supreme Court’s VRA decision is going to impact the current map,” DeSantis said.
U.S. House districts are typically redrawn once a decade, immediately after a census. DeSantis would want to see another Census to force redistricting, claiming Florida was undercounted in 2020 and should have 29 seats in Congress.
“I was hoping then, obviously, that would have required it. I think at this point, the chance of that happening, I just haven’t seen the movement that I was hoping for,” DeSantis said.
Senate not pursuing redistricting work
Senate President Ben Albritton sent a memo this week confirming there is no ongoing work regarding potential mid-decade redistricting taking place in the Senate. The memo stated DeSantis has expressed a desire to address redistricting next spring.
Albritton warned senators about potential litigation that has followed the passage of new maps in prior cycles. The Florida Supreme Court has previously limited the scope of legislative privilege when it comes to redistricting, and sitting legislators may be compelled to produce records or be subject to questioning under oath.
Independent commission proposal
There is a new push in Tallahassee to take politics out of the process altogether. Democratic State Rep. Daryl Campbell and Sen. Shevrin Jones have filed legislation that would create independent redistricting commissions to draw maps.
Campbell filed a proposed constitutional amendment, HJR 619, while Jones filed SJR 728. The measures would replace Florida’s current partisan process with independent citizen commissions that draw maps for the state House, state Senate, and congressional districts.
“Making it independent leaves it out of the politician’s hands. It doesn’t allow us to put our thumb on it. But it also allows us to actually talk to each other,” Campbell said.
The commissions would be made up of citizens selected through a nonpartisan screening process. No current or recent elected officials, party officers, campaign staff, or lobbyists could serve. All deliberations would occur in public.
Jones said the legislation addresses equal representation.
“The fight for fair maps is fundamentally a fight for equal representation and a functioning democracy,” Jones said. “For too long, the people of Florida have been forced to live under a system where politicians pick their voters, silencing diverse voices and cementing power in the hands of a few.”
The House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting is scheduled to have another informational meeting next week.
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