{"id":258019,"date":"2026-05-04T18:12:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T18:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/258019\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T18:12:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T18:12:06","slug":"one-of-the-most-extreme-gerrymanders-in-american-history-voters-sue-to-block-floridas-new-map","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/258019\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018One of the most extreme gerrymanders in American history\u2019: Voters sue to block Florida\u2019s new map"},"content":{"rendered":"

Florida voters and pro-voting group Equal Ground Education Fund filed<\/a> a lawsuit Monday challenging the GOP\u2019s new congressional gerrymander, urging a court to block the map for violating the state constitution\u2019s ban on partisan gerrymandering.<\/p>\n

The map was signed<\/a> into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who led the unusual mid-decade redistricting as part of President Donald Trump\u2019s broader effort to tilt the 2026 midterm elections.<\/p>\n

Florida Republicans raced to enact the map with minimal public input and despite sharp criticism from Democrats \u2014 as well as unease within their own party.<\/p>\n

The complaint alleges that the map is a partisan gerrymandering, in violation of the state constitution, which bans any partisan intent in redistricting.\u00a0 It cites testimony from the map-drawer, a DeSantis aide, who admitted to lawmakers this week that he had used partisan data.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 2026 Plan is, by traditional measures of partisan gerrymandering, one of the most extreme gerrymanders in American history,\u201d the complaint reads. \u201cIt was not a redistricting proposal dressed up in the language of neutral principles. It was a partisan declaration, and it was presented as one.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2010, Florida voters overwhelmingly passed<\/a> the Fair Districts Amendment, placing strict limits on partisan gerrymandering. Florida is one of several states with such protections, including Utah, where a judge struck down<\/a> a similar GOP map last year after finding it violated a voter-approved ban.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not back down and allow Ron Desantis to violate Florida\u2019s Constitution,\u201d Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, said after DeSantis signed the gerrymander into law. \u201cThese are unconstitutional and violate Florida\u2019s 2010 Fair District Amendment. The fight has just begun.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the complaint argues Florida lawmakers ignored those constraints entirely.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit lays out how the new map reshapes key regions \u2014 including Tampa Bay, Orlando and South Florida \u2014 to weaken Democratic voters by splitting them across multiple districts, a tactic known as \u201ccracking,\u201d and concentrating them into a smaller number of seats, known as \u201cpacking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt every stage in the process, from its release to its final enactment, both the Governor and the Legislature made a mockery of the Fair District Amendment,\u201d the complaint adds. \u201cStatistics like these do not occur by accident. They are the product of deliberate choices, made by professionals with sophisticated tools and a clear partisan goal: to pack and crack Democratic voters with surgical precision and deprive Florida voters of a fair map guaranteed to them by the Florida Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, the map could allow Republicans to win 24 of Florida\u2019s 28 congressional seats \u2014 or roughly 86% of the delegation \u2014 even in elections where they receive far less than that share of the vote.<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs also point to unusually direct evidence of partisan intent, including testimony from the map\u2019s own architect.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Governor\u2019s map drawer, Jason Poreda, appeared before the Legislature, he acknowledged that he had drawn the 2026 Plan using partisan data,\u201d the plaintiffs wrote. \u201cWhen pressed on precisely how he used partisan data, and for which districts, Poreda acknowledged that partisan metrics were not limited to any particular district. Instead, they were \u201cmixed in\u201d with other traditional redistricting principles and applied across the entire map, including in particular in the \u2018final balancing\u2019 of a district.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That admission, the plaintiffs argue, is direct evidence the map violates the state constitution.<\/p>\n

Under Florida law, courts can strike down maps if partisan intent plays any role \u2014 not just a dominant one. As the Florida Supreme Court has previously held, \u201cthere is no acceptable level of improper intent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The complaint further alleges the map was driven by openly stated political goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 2026 Plan can only be explained by the same purpose that has been openly stated for months: to maximize Republican congressional representation,\u201d the complaint continues.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear, however, whether Florida courts will be as willing<\/a> to enforce the law this time. Most justices on the state Supreme Court were appointed by DeSantis, and the court has recently signaled a more limited view of the Fair Districts Amendment\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n

DeSantis himself has openly boasted<\/a> about the court\u2019s shift.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got elected, we had probably the most liberal supreme court in the country,\u201d DeSantis told reporters while signing the state\u2019s latest voter suppression bill into law. \u201cNow I\u2019ve put six [justices] on and we have the most conservative supreme court in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, the plaintiffs argue the law remains clear \u2014 and binding.<\/p>\n

*The Elias Law Group (ELG) is representing plaintiffs in the case. ELG Firm Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Florida voters and pro-voting group Equal Ground Education Fund filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the GOP\u2019s new congressional…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250483,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-258019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}