Florida’s Supreme Court delivered a major victory to Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers this week, ruling that the state’s newly redrawn congressional map will remain in effect for the 2026 midterm elections.
In a 6-1 decision, the court rejected an emergency effort by voting-rights
groups to block the map before candidate qualifying concludes and ballots are finalized.
The ruling means Florida voters will cast ballots this November using the new congressional districts approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature during a special session earlier this year.
The legal challenge was brought by the Equal Ground Education Fund and other voting-rights organizations, which argued the map was intentionally designed to benefit Republicans in violation of Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment.
That constitutional amendment, which voters approved in 2010, prohibits lawmakers from drawing congressional districts that intentionally favor or disadvantage a political party.
The groups sought an injunction that would have prevented the map from taking effect while the broader lawsuit continued through the courts.
The Florida Supreme Court declined to intervene.
Writing for the majority, the court concluded that the case should continue moving through the normal appellate process before the state’s highest court becomes involved.
“At this time, we do not have jurisdiction over that matter,” the court wrote, adding that it would not assume the lower court’s eventual decision would automatically warrant Supreme Court review.
The decision effectively guarantees that the current map will be used in the 2026 elections regardless of how the underlying lawsuit is ultimately resolved.
Candidate qualifying for congressional races closes this week, leaving little time for additional court intervention before the election cycle moves forward.
Justice Jorge Labarga issued the lone dissent.
Labarga argued that the court should have stepped in immediately because of the significant statewide implications and the rapidly approaching election deadlines.
“Unfortunately, for now, and with a filing deadline and an election fast approaching, we will not have the opportunity to review the issues of statewide importance raised in the petitioners’ efforts to enjoin Florida’s 2026 congressional map,” Labarga wrote.
Labarga is currently the only remaining justice on the court who was not appointed by a Republican governor.
The ruling represents another legal win for DeSantis, who strongly advocated for
redrawing Florida’s congressional districts after the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision limiting portions of the Voting Rights Act.
Following that ruling, DeSantis argued that Florida needed to revisit portions of its congressional map, particularly districts that had previously been drawn with racial considerations in mind.
Rather than allowing lawmakers to create their own proposal, an aide to DeSantis, Jason Poreda, drafted a new congressional map that was later presented to the Legislature.
Republican lawmakers adopted the map without making any changes.
Democrats and voting-rights groups quickly challenged the plan, pointing to testimony from Poreda acknowledging that partisan voting data was used during the map-drawing process.
Critics also cited public statements from the governor’s office highlighting potential Republican gains under the new district lines.
Supporters of the map countered that the redraw was necessary following changes in federal law and recent court decisions involving race-based redistricting.
Florida currently has 28 congressional districts, and Republicans hope the new configuration could improve their chances of holding or expanding their House majority in Washington.
The redistricting battle is also part of a larger national fight unfolding ahead of the 2026 midterms, as both parties seek favorable maps in key states following recent court rulings on voting rights and redistricting.
Although Tuesday’s decision allows the map to remain in place, the legal battle is far from over.
The underlying lawsuit challenging the map’s constitutionality will continue moving through Florida’s court system.
If challengers ultimately prevail, courts could require changes to future congressional maps.
For now, however, Florida’s elections will move forward under the districts approved earlier this year.
Justice Adam Tanenbaum, writing separately, emphasized that point in a concurring opinion.
“The people of Florida can rest assured that elections will take place this year,” Tanenbaum wrote, noting that candidates, election officials, and voters now have certainty about the rules governing the upcoming election.
