UCLA Voting Rights Project, Campaign Legal Center Sue to Block Florida’s Partisan Gerrymander

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alberto Lammers, alammers@luskin.ucla.edu 

UCLA Voting Rights Project, Campaign Legal Center Sue to Block Florida’s Partisan Gerrymander

Lawsuit argues Florida’s new congressional map violates the state constitution’s voter-approved ban on maps drawn to favor a political party or incumbent. 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (May 4, 2026) — Today, the UCLA Voting Rights Project (VRP) and the Campaign Legal Center — on behalf of individual Florida voters — sued to block Florida’s new illegal, gerrymandered congressional map, arguing that state lawmakers violated the Florida Constitution by drawing districts to favor one political party ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The lawsuit seeks to enforce Florida’s voter-approved Fair Districts Amendment.

The hastily drawn map was passed after an unprecedented special session last week with no opportunities for public input before or during the map-drawing process. The map also flies in the face of Florida’s voter-approved Fair Districts Amendment, which explicitly prohibits crafting maps to “favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent.” In addition to the blatant partisan intent, the map also violates a requirement to utilize political and geographic boundaries.

Florida lawmakers are suggesting that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais is a green light to ignore the Fair Districts Amendment and justify their egregious partisan gerrymander. But Floridians overwhelmingly voted to ban intentional partisan gerrymandering by adopting the Fair Districts Amendment in 2010, and no court has ruled that any provisions of the Fair Districts Amendment — including the partisan gerrymandering prohibition — are unconstitutional.

“The Florida Legislature, at the behest of Governor DeSantis and President Trump, is attempting to fast-track an illegal gerrymander for partisan gain, blatantly violating the state’s constitution,” said Simone Leeper, senior legal counsel for redistricting at Campaign Legal Center. “In 2010, Floridians made it clear that voters should determine who represents them, and not the other way around. The Fair Districts Amendment plainly states that congressional and state legislative districts cannot ‘favor or disfavor’ any particular party. Instead of abiding by this law, the Legislature is defying the will of voters and backing a map that was crafted entirely with partisan intent. We stand ready to defeat this unconstitutional map to ensure that all Floridians can make their voices heard during the 2026 midterm election cycle.” 

“Florida voters made clear that congressional maps should not be drawn to entrench one political party’s power,” said Bernadette Reyes, senior staff attorney at VRP. “The lawsuit is about enforcing that promise. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais does not erase Florida’s constitutional ban on partisan gerrymandering, and it does not give lawmakers permission to override the will of the voters.”  

Read the filing here.

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