JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida is preparing to redraw its congressional districts next year, even though it remains uncertain whether the state will gain any new seats.
Gov. Ron DeSantis told an interviewer that the Florida Legislature will take up the task of revising the congressional map in the spring of 2025. He said the new map could include the current 28 seats or possibly 29 seats if Florida is awarded an additional congressional seat.
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This means the legislature will move forward with redistricting regardless of whether Florida officially gains a new seat after the Census. The governor’s earlier expectation that Florida could gain as many as five new seats has been scaled back.
Chris Hand, a government law attorney and guest on This Week in Jacksonville, explained that this mid-cycle redistricting effort is part of a growing trend seen in other states like Texas and California.
He noted that traditionally, redistricting happens once every ten years after the census, but now some states are pushing for changes in the middle of the decade for political reasons.
“We’re seeing more and more of this mid-cycle redistricting. It used to be the case that the census is done every ten years, and state legislatures redraw districts based on that data,” Hand said. ”Now, states are considering redistricting more frequently, sometimes to gain political advantage.”
The Legislature’s redistricting select committee, launched by House Speaker Daniel Perez, will study whether changes are needed and how quickly they might happen.
As Florida joins other states in this politically charged redistricting debate, the process will be closely watched ahead of the 2026 elections.