TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attempt to do away with anti-gerrymandering provisions in the state constitution had its first day in court Friday, as opposing attorneys pushed a Tallahassee judge to put a temporary hold on new congressional lines that created four additional GOP-leaning seats.
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A series of lawsuits from advocacy groups challenging the map argue in large part that Jason Pereda, the DeSantis administration’s map-drawer, used political data to draw the new districts, which they say makes them unconstitutional in Florida after voters passed the Fair Districts amendments with 63% support in 2010.
Pereda conceded in state legislative testimony last month that he used political data along with other considerations when drawing the new maps.
“This case is unusual because the map-drawer admitted on the public record that the districts were drawn with partisan data and without the need to comply with the” Fair Districts amendments, said Christina Ford, an attorney with Equal Ground, one of three groups that sued to block the new maps from being implemented.
DeSantis and his attorney have argued that they did not need to follow Fair Districts. They say that’s because language in those amendments — which also protected the drawing of districts designed to allow certain minority groups to elect their candidates of choice — is now at odds with federal law, a contention bolstered following a U.S. Supreme Court decision sharply limiting the use of race in redistricting.
DeSantis’ overall hope is that the issue makes it to the Florida Supreme Court and the justices there overturn the Fair District provisions.
During a more than two-hour hearing, attorneys for DeSantis, Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd and the Florida Legislature argued that a temporary injunction against the new map, which is what the plaintiffs are seeking, should not be granted without a full trial. They said the newly passed maps should be the ones used during the 2026 midterm elections and that the plaintiffs took Pereda’s comments out of context.
“Pereda was up there for hours explaining in painstaking detail how he drew the map,” said Mohammad Jazil, an attorney representing both Byrd and DeSantis. “Plaintiffs want to ignore all that, focus on one statement that talks about partisan awareness.”
“Any level of improper partisan intent is too much,” said Simone Leeper, an attorney representing the Campaign Legal Center, another group challenging the lines.
Judge Joshua Hawkes said he plans to issue a written order on the request to temporarily block the maps, but he did not make a ruling at the conclusion of the hearing.
Florida lawmakers last month approved maps drawn by DeSantis’ office, part of a national mid-decade redistricting fight kicked off by the White House last year in an effort to beef up Republicans’ slim majority in the House.
The effort began with Texas Republicans and, since then, has seen a handful of Republican and Democratic-led states going back and forth to try to redraw lines and help their political parties. But Republicans have emerged with the overall redistricting advantage heading into the 2026 election.
Part of that is thanks to DeSantis’ map. Republicans currently have 20 of Florida’s 28 congressional districts. The new Florida map includes 24 Republican-leaning seats.
The plaintiffs also argued that partisan intent can be seen in which regions were most affected by the redistricting, which DeSantis said he wanted because of population shifts and growth.
They noted that in Northeast Florida, one of the state’s fastest-growing regions, Republican-held seats there stayed largely the same. But in the Tampa Bay area, where population growth has been slower, there were significant changes — including redrawing the seat held by Rep. Kathy Castor, the only Democrat in the region.
“The reason the [new map] does that is because its goal is to target Democrats and favor Republicans,” argued attorney Chris Shenton, who represents Common Cause Florida.
But attorneys for the state argued that the maps should not be blocked without a full trial where evidence can be presented. Because of time concerns, the new map should be the one used during the midterms, they said, even as the legal challenge continues to play out.
Candidates can start turning in qualifying paperwork to run in the 2026 primaries starting on May 25.
“Changes this late are not a great idea,” Jazil told the court.
The plaintiffs said that the current maps, drawn by DeSantis in 2022, should be left in place for the midterms, so logistical hurdles should not be a huge issue because they are the lines that have been used for the past two election cycles.
