April 20, 2026
DeSantis calls special session to redraw Florida congressional maps
Florida Republicans scramble for three more seats mid-decade
🗳️Elections📊Electoral Systems✊Civil Rights📜Constitutional Law🏛️Government
Governor Ron DeSantis called a special legislative session for April 20-24, 2026, to redraw Florida's congressional districts. The current Republican-drawn map from 2022 gives the GOP a 20-8 advantage over Democrats in the state's 28 House seats.
The Fair Districts Amendment, approved by 63 percent of Florida voters in 2010, explicitly bans congressional maps drawn to favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent. DeSantis's move defies this voter-approved constraint.
In League of Women Voters v. Detzner (2015), the Florida Supreme Court struck down the 2012 congressional maps for partisan intent and ordered a new map. DeSantis is now attempting the same tactic that the court previously rejected.
Republicans claim the new maps would protect minority voting rights under the Voting Rights Act's Section 2. Voting rights groups counter that reducing minority-majority districts actually harms Black voters. The 2022 map already cut Black-majority districts from 3 to 2.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule in Louisiana v. Callais on whether the Voting Rights Act's Section 2 violates the Equal Protection Clause. On April 6, DeSantis said he knows how Justice 
Samuel Alito will rule. If the Court guts Section 2, the legal constraint on partisan maps could collapse.
As of April 14, Republican leadership had not finalized any map. A Perez staffer told reporters: 'There just isn't a map that exists right now.' The session begins with disagreement over what to draw.
Texas conducted the only modern mid-decade redistricting in 2003 under House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the maps in LULAC v. Perry (2006) but expressed concerns about partisan intent and voting rights.
Speaker Daniel Perez has clashed with DeSantis and Senate President Ben Albritton over timing and approach. GOP Reps. Webster, Diaz-Balart, and Steube publicly warned that aggressive redistricting risks a 'dummymander' and could jeopardize their own seats.
An Emerson Polling survey in April 2026 found 56 percent of Florida voters opposed the special session redistricting, while only 28 percent supported it.
🗳️Elections📊Electoral Systems✊Civil Rights📜Constitutional Law🏛️Government
People, bills, and sources
Ron DeSantis
Governor of Florida
Daniel Perez
Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
Ben Albritton
President of the Florida Senate
Jessica Lowe-Minor
President of the League of Women Voters of Florida
Daniel Webster
U.S. Representative (R-Florida, Orlando area)
Mario Diaz-Balart
U.S. Representative (R-Florida, Miami area)
Evan Power
Chair of the Republican Party of Florida
Cord Byrd
Secretary of State of Florida
Samuel Alito
Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
Derrick Johnson
President and CEO of the NAACP
What you can do
1
civic action
Contact your state representative about the special session
Tell your state representative and senator whether you support or oppose the April 20-24 special session. Remind them that the Fair Districts Amendment banned maps drawn for partisan advantage.
Hello, I am [NAME], a constituent from [CITY/COUNTY]. I am calling about the special legislative session on congressional redistricting.
Key concerns:
- The Fair Districts Amendment, approved by 63% of voters in 2010, bans maps drawn for partisan advantage
- The Florida Supreme Court struck down partisan maps in 2015
- 56% of voters oppose this redistricting effort
Specific request: I am asking my representative to vote against any map that violates the Fair Districts Amendment.
Question: What is my representative's position on mid-decade redistricting?
Thank you for your time.
2
research
Track the special session proceedings online
The Florida Legislature livestreams committee hearings and floor debates. Watch the redistricting committee hearings April 20-23 to see what maps are proposed and understand where your district might change.
3
research
Learn how the Voting Rights Act Section 2 case affects your district
The Louisiana v. Callais case before the Supreme Court will determine whether Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act violates the Equal Protection Clause. If the Court rules against Section 2, Republicans will have more legal freedom to draw maps that dilute minority voting power.