DeSantis calls April redistricting special session
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he will convene a special legislative session in late April to redraw Florida’s congressional map, scheduling it to follow the regular legislative session and to await a pending Supreme court ruling.He has signaled redistricting plans since December 2025, and Florida Republicans have been preparing for a mid-decade map change since mid‑2025, including a select committee in the state House. DeSantis said the state must wait for the court’s decision in Louisiana v. callais – a case that could limit race-based challenges under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act – before finalizing new districts. Analysts say a ruling for Louisiana could allow Republicans to flip as many as three Democratic-held seats in Florida. DeSantis argued the state’s population shifts since COVID justify reapportionment and said an April session would still give election officials time to prepare for the 2026 primaries (Aug. 18) and general election (Nov. 3), when all 28 Florida congressional seats will be on the ballot.
DeSantis calls April redistricting special session
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) announced on Wednesday that he will convene a special session of the Florida legislature in April to redistrict the state’s congressional map.
DeSantis entered the national mid-decade redistricting battle in December 2025, signaling he intended to redistrict, but would begin the process after the Supreme Court weighs in on race-based congressional districting laws. In his announcement, he said the special session will follow the Sunshine State’s regular legislative session.
“We are going to do it in the later part of April, partially because there’s a Supreme Court decision that’s going to affect the validity of some of these districts nationwide, including some of the districts in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said.
Florida Republicans have been pushing to redistrict the GOP stronghold since mid-2025, with state House Speaker Daniel Perez forming a select committee on redistricting in August. DeSantis urged GOP legislators, excited at the prospect of redistricting, they “can’t do it now.”
“I know there’s a lot of people that are excited in both the House and the Senate to be able to do it, so they’re going to get their chance to do it, but realistically, you can’t do it now. The Supreme Court hasn’t ruled, so we’ve got to give some time for that,” DeSantis said.
The Florida governor was referring to the Supreme Court’s expected ruling in the case of Louisiana v. Callais, one that could overturn the ability of the people to challenge congressional maps with race-based legal arguments under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. If the court rules in Louisiana’s favor, Florida could flip three Democratic-held seats, protected by section 2 of the VRA, to GOP seats, according to a Fair Fight Action analysis.
The Supreme Court has already heard two rounds of arguments on the case and is expected to decide in early 2026.
DeSantis said if Florida convenes a redistricting special session in April, “it is still enough time for the supervisors to get everything in order” for the 2026 elections. He also said the state’s population has drastically changed over the past several years and argued the state needs “to get apportioned properly and people deserve equal representation.”
“We’ve had ten years of population change just since COVID, easy, probably even more than that,” DeSantis said. “We have an ability, not only an ability to do it, but really a duty to do it to ensure fair representation.”
In 2026, Florida’s primary elections will be held on Aug. 18, and the general election date is set for Nov. 3. All 28 of Florida’s congressional districts are on the ballot in the midterm elections.
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