The redistricting of Orange County will add two new districts to the existing six and is poised to shake up the 2026 elections for the Orange County Board of County Commissioners.  

At the Oct. 15 Apopka City Council meeting, District 6 Commissioner Michael Scott and District 2 Commissioner Christine Moore, who represents Apopka,spoke about the redistricting process and what the resulting decision made would mean for voters throughout the county.  

“What you will see probably, in the next three months, is the (Orange County) supervisor of elections starts to redraw numbers and lines as you’ll begin to receive notices that tells you kind of what precincts you are in corresponding to the change,” Scott said. “They start to remember the precincts to make way for the new districts, and, like I said, in August 2026 we’ll have a slew of candidates running for public office, and we will have potentially five new members and a county mayor.” 

Moore said redistricting will result in many new candidates running for office, which would impact the Board of County Commissioners. She asked the Apopka City Council to invite them to speak about their issues.   

“There’ll be lots and lots of candidates,” she said. “There’ll be all over the spectrum, and it’s going to be the public’s job to evaluate them, but the County Commission has the potential to really swing. I mean, you could have six out of nine new people. I will tell you, for doing this for a lot of years, your best chance to influence your elected officials is when they’re running for office. So, take that opportunity to invite them in here and talk to them and see what their issues are.” 

In November 2024, Orange County voters passed a charter amendment to raise the number of county districts from six to eight. In January, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners established the 2025 Mid-Decennial Redistricting Advisory Committee.  

The committee has been tasked with recommendations for increasing the number of districts, conducting public meetings to gather residents’ input, review census data, recommend boundaries for the two new districts and changes to current district, and provide an initial recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners in September.    

For seven months, the committee collected public input through public meetings in districts throughout the county. The committee reviewed two recommended maps at the Sept. 16 Board of County Commissioners.  

On Tuesday, Oct. 14, the Board of County Commissioners held a public meeting to adopt a final redistricting map. Of the 20 maps considered, Map 7B was approved on a 5-2 vote.  

The new map means that, among other changes, District 6 and District 2 will each lose the Pine Hills community. District 2 will also lose areas such as Eatonville and Rosemont. However, Lockhart stayed within the district after community advocacy.  

Currently, District 2 covers Apopka, Ocoee, Eatonville, Tangerine and Zellwood, as well as portions of Pine Hills, College Park and Orlando. District 6 right now includes Pine Hills and the International Drive tourist corridor.  






Teresa Sargeant has been with The Apopka Chief for over 10 years.