As Gov. Ron DeSantis raises the possibility of holding an unusual mid-decade redistricting process in Florida, the group Common Cause said Tuesday there is a risk of a “domino effect” across the country as Texas Republicans seek to redraw congressional lines.
Common Cause, which has worked on redistricting issues in various states and supports independent redistricting commissions, held a media briefing that focused on the possibility Texas will redraw congressional districts to help elect more Republicans — and that California could counter by trying to revamp districts to send more Democrats to Washington.
The proposals have come as President Donald Trump and other Republicans try to find ways to help the GOP keep its slim control of the U.S. House. DeSantis last week said his administration was looking at another possible round of redistricting in Republican-controlled Florida, and similar ideas have emerged in states such as Illinois and New York, where Democrats could look to add seats.
Dan Vicuna, senior policy director of voting and fair representation at Common Cause, said the group would file lawsuits to challenge new redistricting plans, regardless of whether they were drawn by Republicans or Democrats. He said politicians in the past have paid “lip service” to community involvement in redistricting but now are “saying the quiet part out loud.”
“They care only about raw political power,” Vicuna said.
Redistricting is typically done after the once-a-decade U.S. census, with Florida lawmakers drawing new maps in 2022. DeSantis discussed the possibility of another round after the Florida Supreme Court this month upheld a 2022 congressional map that gave Republicans control of a North Florida district previously held by a Democrat.
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“I think if you look at that Florida Supreme Court analysis, there may be more defects that need to be remedied, apart from what we've already done,” DeSantis said last week.
“So, I do think it would be appropriate to do a redistricting here in the mid-decade,” DeSantis added. “So, we're working through what that would look like.”
Florida’s congressional delegation has 20 Republicans and eight Democrats. The Legislature, which has Republican supermajorities, would have to approve any redistricting plan.
After DeSantis’ comments last week, state House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, derided the idea as a “dangerous abuse of power and an attempt to put Donald Trump’s agenda ahead of the people of Florida.”
“Redistricting is intended to occur once every 10 years --- following the census --- to reflect population changes, not to serve as a political weapon whenever those in power fear losing their grip,” Driskell said in a statement.
Florida voters in 2010 passed what are known as the “Fair Districts” constitutional amendments to set standards for congressional and legislative redistricting. In part, the amendments say no “apportionment plan or individual district shall be drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent.”
But the Florida Supreme Court ruling this month that DeSantis cited did not focus on the partisanship issue — though the 2022 map benefited Republicans.
The ruling centered on North Florida’s Congressional District 5, which in the past stretched from Jacksonville to west of Tallahassee and elected Black Democrat Al Lawson.
During the 2022 redistricting process, DeSantis argued that keeping such a district would be an unconstitutional racial gerrymander and successfully pressured lawmakers for an overhaul that included drawing District 5 in the Jacksonville area. White Republicans have won all North Florida congressional seats under the new map.
Rejecting arguments of voting-rights groups, the Supreme Court ruled that using a design similar to the old Lawson district would violate the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause because it would involve racial gerrymandering,
The Supreme Court reached the same conclusion as DeSantis about the old design of District 5, saying there “is no plausible, non-racial explanation for using a nearly 200-mile-long land bridge to connect the Black populations of Jacksonville and Tallahassee.”
“My guys are going through the court's opinion, to look at different avenues,” DeSantis said last week of the potential for mid-decade redistricting.
But while addressing the Texas and California issues Tuesday, Common Cause officials said redistricting should be about fair representation for voters and communities. Vicuna pointed to a potential “domino effect” across the country, with leaders of both parties seeking partisan advantage.
