Mid-Decade Redistricting: The Erosion of Fair & Equal Representation in Florida

By Yerimiah Ruiz Evans

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On July 30, 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis spoke favorably of mid-decade redistricting that would reshape Florida’s congressional map to give republicans more seats in Congress. This comes shortly after President Donald Trump's urge for redistricting nationwide to ensure republican control of Congress. 

To ensure fair representation, maps are drawn to represent an equal number of people across the state of Florida, as compactly and geographically sound as possible. States like Missouri, Texas, Utah, Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, and North Carolina have all begun discussing or re-drawing congressional maps; Florida is now following suit. 

Florida Supreme Court cases, such as Black Votes Matter Capacity Building Institute v. Byrd, are giving Governor DeSantis the green light. This case upheld a previous congressional map drawn in 2022 that would give republicans 20 seats in Congress and democrats only 8, in opposition to the state legislature's proposed ratio of 16:12 (Republicans: Democrats).

Critics argue that the case disregards the Fair Districts amendment passed in Florida in 2010, citing it as a direct attack on Black political power and the fundamental principles of representative democracy.

Heading the call of the governor, Speaker Daniel Perez (R-116), in a memo, declared the creation of a special committee to “explore” the notion of re-creating the congressional maps, and “seek legal guidance from our supreme court without the uncertainty associated with deferring those questions until after the next decennial census and reapportionment.”

In a map posted to various social media platforms, Florida Representative Anna V. Eskamani, PhD. shared a map circulating online among republican activists. The Map, shown below, would flip 5 Democratic seats and leave only 3 Democratic seats in the state. Making the ratio 25:3. 

As seen on the map, the democratic districts remaining are weirdly drawn regardless of geographic boundaries and in stark contrast to past maps. This process, known as Gerrymandering, is used to favor a political party through drawing incoherent congressional maps. 

While they do represent nearly the same number of Floridians as other districts, they're drawn regardless of culture, political beliefs, race, etc. This leaves communities of Floridians in districts with leadership that doesn't accurately match their ideals and values.

Staying true to our ideals, Rise Tallahassee Inc. is a non-partisan civic education and activism organization dedicated to serving all Floridians regardless of political party affiliation, but the new proposed maps stand in contrast to the democratic framework on which our state and nation were built. 

The fight for fair representation was a catalyst for our nation; here again, it is a catalyst for action. In order to ensure the fair and equal representation of all Floridians, we ask all readers to oppose these new maps and communicate this wish to your elected officials. 

Please contact your state representatives by visiting bit.ly/FLRep.

The first meeting of the select committee is on Thursday, December 4th, at 1:30 PM in Reed Hall (102 HOB). We urge all able to come to the committee to learn, and to cite their concerns to their elected officials. 

Being a Floridian means striving to ensure domestic tranquility, maintain public order, and guarantee equal civil and political rights to all. Today, that means demanding a map where all Floridians live and are served by those we chose democratically, not those chosen for us.

Resources:

docs.google.com

We Draw the Lines: No Partisan Maps

Tell your representatives to put people over politics: don’t rig our voting maps! The district drawing process, known as redistricting, sets the boundaries that decide which people live in each voting district and who represents them in government. Under Florida’s constitution, drawing vot...

Sources:

• Rivas, Yunior. “Florida Lawmakers Schedule Launch for Mid-Decade GOP Gerrymander.” Democracy Docket, 17 Nov. 2025. Democracy Docket

• Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting. Florida House of Representatives. “Committees Detail: CommitteeId=3364.” Accessed 27 Nov. 2025. Florida House of Representatives

• Sexton, Christine. “Florida Supreme Court upholds congressional district maps.” Florida Phoenix, 17 July 2025. Florida Phoenix

• “Equal Ground Responds to Florida Supreme Court Decision: ‘The Florida Supreme Court Has Turned Its Back on Black Voters.’” Equal Ground Education Fund, 2025. Equal Ground

• “Florida GOP Legislators Mum on DeSantis Redistricting Push.” PoliticoPro, 29 July 2025. Politico Pro

• “‘This draft congressional map for Florida has been circulating online among GOP…’” Anna for Florida (Facebook post), 2025. facebook.com

• The Florida Constitution. The Florida Senate, 2025. flsenate.gov