The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for new U.S. House districts drawn by Republicans to be used in the upcoming midterm elections, delivering a significant victory for the GOP in its nationwide effort to maintain a slim House majority.
The court, in a 6-1 decision, denied a request for a temporary injunction from voters who argued that the districts violate a state constitutional ban on partisan gerrymandering. The justices ruled they lacked jurisdiction to intervene while the case proceeds through lower courts, leaving the new map in place for the August primary and November general election.
The new districts, signed into law by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis after a two-day special legislative session, could bolster the GOP's chances of winning four additional seats in Florida, where Republicans already hold 20 of 28 U.S. House seats.
The decision provides certainty for candidates facing a Friday deadline to qualify for the state's August primary. Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier hailed the ruling as a "complete and total victory" on social media.
Opponents, including community organizing group Equal Ground and Common Cause Florida, expressed outrage and vowed to continue the legal fight, even if it extends into the 2028 election cycle. "The Florida Supreme Court's failure to stop this brazen partisan power grab is not only an assault on democracy, but an abdication of its duty to the people of Florida," said Genesis Robinson, executive director of Equal Ground.
Amy Keith, executive director of Common Cause Florida, called the new districts "a pretty clear partisan gerrymander" and pledged to prevent the map from affecting future elections.
Florida's mid-decade redistricting is part of a broader national GOP strategy, following President Donald Trump's plan to reshape voting boundaries to the party's advantage. The state legislature approved the map on April 29, the same day the U.S.
Supreme Court weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections for minorities while striking down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana. Since then, several Southern states have moved to eliminate minority districts that have elected Democrats.
DeSantis had called lawmakers into a special session before the high court's ruling, anticipating the outcome. His office asserted that no racial data was used in drawing the map, which redraws a southeastern Florida district previously created to help elect a Black representative under the Voting Rights Act.
The new map also faces challenges under Florida's Fair Districts Amendment, approved by voters in 2010, which prohibits partisan gerrymandering and requires districts to be compact and respect existing boundaries.
Republicans argue that the racial redistricting provision of the Fair Districts Amendment violates the U.S. Constitution, and if one element is invalid, the entire amendment is void, including the ban on partisan gerrymandering.
Attorneys for state officials made similar arguments to the state Supreme Court, also contending it was too late in the election season to revert to previous maps. In a filing, they called the new map "cause for celebration" during America's 250th anniversary, describing it as "a truly colorblind map."
Attorneys for the voters argued the districts are "among the most extreme partisan gerrymanders enacted in any state over the past half-century." Attorney Chris Shenton, representing Common Cause and other groups, noted that under the new map, 82% of voters in Republican-held districts remain in the same districts, while only 41% of voters in Democratic-held districts are kept in their same districts.