Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday called a special session of the Florida Legislature to redraw the state’s congressional district boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Under a proclamation issued by the governor, lawmakers will convene in Tallahassee on April 20 and must adjourn no later than 11:59 p.m. on April 24. The session will be limited exclusively to legislation related to congressional redistricting and the appropriation of funds for any resulting legal challenges.
“Every Florida resident deserves to be represented fairly and constitutionally,” the governor said. “Today, I announced that I will be convening a Special Session of the Legislature focused on redistricting to ensure that Florida’s congressional maps accurately reflect the population of our state and to comply with an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling. This Special Session will take place after the regular legislative session, which will allow the Legislature to first focus on the pressing issues facing Floridians before devoting its full attention to congressional redistricting in April.”
Florida last redrew its congressional districts in 2022, following the 2020 census. However, the governor’s proclamation cites recent legal developments, including a 2025 Florida Supreme Court decision holding that compliance with the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution takes precedence over the state constitution’s non-diminishment protections for minority voting strength.
The proclamation also references a case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court that could further limit the use of race in drawing congressional districts.
While states are required to redraw congressional maps every 10 years to reflect population changes, federal law does not prohibit states from doing so more frequently. The governor has argued that revisiting Florida’s maps now would allow the Legislature to incorporate anticipated guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court, which is expected to rule on the Louisiana case in early 2026.
Any new congressional map approved during the special session would require a majority vote in both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s signature.
In response, Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman claimed that the sought redistricting violates the state’s Fair Districts amendment.
“No matter what pretext the governor offers for mid-decade redistricting — and he has offered nearly half a dozen in an attempt to find one that sticks — what he wants the Legislature to do is clearly illegal. Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment strictly prohibits any maps from being drawn for partisan reasons, and regardless of any bluster from the governor’s office, the only reason we’re having this unprecedented conversation about drawing new maps is because Donald Trump demanded it,” she said. “An overwhelming majority of Floridians voted in favor of the Fair Districts Amendment and their voices must be respected. The redistricting process is meant to serve the people, not the politicians.”
Meanwhile, Senate President Ben Albritton reiterated, as he did in December, that “there is no ongoing work regarding mid-decade redistricting taking place in the Senate at this time. I’ll continue to monitor legal developments and will keep you updated.”
Secretary of State Cord Byrd concurrently issued a directive declaring 2026 a “year of apportionment” for congressional races, a designation that alters how candidates qualify for the ballot.
In an apportionment year, congressional candidates seeking to qualify by petition may collect signatures from registered voters anywhere in the state, rather than being limited to voters within a specific district. The number of required signatures is also recalculated using a statewide population formula, and the qualifying period shifts to early June, from June 8 through June 12.
Florida currently has 28 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, following population growth reflected in the 2020 census.
