FL Supreme Court Keeps New Map in Place for 2026 Midterms

The Florida Supreme Court delivered a significant victory this week for Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers, ruling that the state’s newly redrawn congressional map will remain in effect for the 2026 midterm elections.

In a 6-1 decision, the court rejected an emergency request from voting-rights groups seeking to block the map before candidate qualifying ends and ballots are finalized.

The ruling means Florida voters will head into the November elections under the new congressional districts approved earlier this year by the Republican-controlled Legislature during a special session.

The challenge was filed by the Equal Ground Education Fund and other voting-rights organizations, which claimed the map was intentionally crafted to benefit Republicans in violation of Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment.

That amendment, approved by voters in 2010, bars lawmakers from drawing congressional districts with the intent to favor or disadvantage a political party.

The groups asked the court to stop the map from taking effect while the broader lawsuit continued.

Florida’s high court declined to do so.

Writing for the majority, the justices said the dispute should proceed through the regular appellate process before the state Supreme Court steps in.

“At this time, we do not have jurisdiction over that matter,” the court wrote, adding that it would not assume the lower court’s eventual ruling would automatically require review by the state’s highest court.

The decision effectively ensures that the current map will govern Florida’s 2026 congressional elections, even as the underlying lawsuit continues.

Candidate qualifying for congressional races closes this week, leaving little opportunity for additional judicial action before the election calendar moves forward.

Justice Jorge Labarga was the only dissenter.

Labarga argued that the court should have acted immediately because of the statewide significance of the case and the fast-approaching election deadlines.

“Unfortunately, for now, and with a filing deadline and an election fast approaching, we will not have the opportunity to review the issues of statewide importance raised in the petitioners’ efforts to enjoin Florida’s 2026 congressional map,” Labarga wrote.

Labarga is currently the only remaining member of the court who was not appointed by a Republican governor.

The ruling marks another legal win for DeSantis, who pushed for Florida to revisit its congressional boundaries after the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision limiting portions of the Voting Rights Act.

Following that ruling, DeSantis argued the state needed to reexamine parts of its map, particularly districts that had previously been shaped around racial considerations.

Rather than leaving lawmakers to draft their own version, Jason Poreda, an aide to DeSantis, prepared a new congressional map that was later submitted to the Legislature.

Republican lawmakers adopted the proposal without changes.

Democrats and voting-rights groups quickly challenged the plan, citing testimony from Poreda acknowledging that partisan voting data was considered during the map-drawing process.

Critics also pointed to public statements from the governor’s office discussing potential Republican gains under the new lines.

Supporters of the map have argued that the redraw was a necessary response to shifting federal law and recent court rulings involving race-based redistricting.

Florida currently has 28 congressional districts, and Republicans are looking to the new configuration as they work to protect or expand their House majority in Washington.

The fight over Florida’s map is part of a broader national battle heading into the 2026 midterms, as both parties seek favorable congressional lines in key states following a series of consequential voting-rights and redistricting decisions.

While Tuesday’s ruling keeps the map in place for now, the legal fight is not finished.

The underlying lawsuit challenging the map’s constitutionality will continue through Florida’s courts.

If challengers ultimately succeed, future congressional maps could still be altered.

For the 2026 elections, however, Florida will move forward under the districts approved earlier this year.

Justice Adam Tanenbaum, writing separately in concurrence, emphasized the importance of certainty for voters, candidates, and election officials.

“The people of Florida can rest assured that elections will take place this year,” Tanenbaum wrote, noting that the ruling provides clarity over the rules that will govern the upcoming election.

For conservatives, the decision is a reminder that courts should not casually disrupt election systems at the last minute, especially when elected lawmakers have acted within the constitutional process. Florida’s voters, candidates, and election officials now have the certainty needed to proceed.