Editorial: Shut down ill-conceived redistricting plan
It's been a week and a half since Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on a train wreck of a congressional redistricting plan that shifted hundreds of thousands of voters from one district to another. This is a nakedly partisan power grab, and state officials haven’t really bothered to deny it. Their intent: Flip four seats currently held by Democrats into GOP control, giving a party that includes less than 42% of voters a clear advantage in 24 of Florida's 28 districts.
It's just not enough time. With the primary election less than 100 days away, many Central Floridians - and possibly even some potential candidates - don't know what district they are in. And until June 12, when the congressional candidates must qualify to be on the ballot, voters will have no idea who is running. For some candidates, the change will force them to essentially start their campaigns over again, introducing themselves to voters and probably, spending a lot more money on their campaign.
Add to that five pending lawsuits, three directly challenging the state's decision to re-apportion Florida. The courts will probably move as quickly as they can, but there are big, complicated issues in dispute, including whether DeSantis could unilaterally declare Florida's fair-districting provisions invalid.
Which is exactly what he (or rather, his lawyer) did. Their argument was that Florida's constitutional amendments were invalidated by a recent U.S. Supreme Court case that found race-based districting (as practiced in Louisiana) to be a violation of the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause.
We have to give the governor credit: It takes a lot of brass to defend a blatant partisan power grab in the name of equal protection. But Florida's law - particularly, that constitutional provision that explicitly limits redistricting plans meant to favor one party or candidate over another - is different from Louisiana's.
Meanwhile, it's clear that Florida's map was drawn to favor a particular race: White people. That might not have been the overarching intent -- the main goal was obviously to box Democrats out of seats they formerly held. But the loss of two Black and one Hispanic "opportunity districts" leads to an inevitable result.
There is no need for the unseemly rush, especially since this is a fake crisis of DeSantis' own making. Even if the call to redistrict was legit, DeSantis clearly stage-managed the process to keep it on ice as possible. The Legislature could have redrawn the congressional maps during its regular session, which started in January this year. Or it could have taken up the issue last year, a move that would have allowed ample time for public hearings and thoughtful consideration.
The intent seems pretty apparent: By waiting so long, DeSantis ensured that he'd have more power in the process - and be better able to keep his map secret while his staff finagled it.
Elections supervisors across the state are working double-time to get the official notifications out, letting people know which congressional district they live in, and where they will be voting in August. Supervisors in Orange and Osceola counties, which are two of the most-disrupted in the state) agree it will be hard. But they are most worried about the impact on voters, who could arrive at the polls on Election Day and find a list of names they don't recognize in a congressional district they didn't know they'd been moved to.
Tuesday, a crisply worded email from Ashley Carter, general counsel for the Florida Division of Elections, warned supervisors to keep the old maps on hand. That sounds like good advice.
To consider the challenge to the new districts in a way that's fair to voters, courts will have to consider whether DeSantis acted in a way that deprives them of their right to choose their own members of Congress. Looking at the timeline the governor enforced, and the cloud of secrecy and arrogance that has shrouded this affair from the start, it's hard to see how a court could decide to protect it.
There is no defense for this brazen act of dictatorship, and courts should reach that conclusion fairly quickly so elections can get back on track.
The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Executive Editor Roger Simmons and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Use insight@orlandosentinel.com to contact us.
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 9:50 AM.