Overview
- Florida lawmakers will open a special session on April 20 to redraw congressional districts at Gov. Ron DeSantis’ urging even though the Supreme Court has not ruled on a key Voting Rights Act case and the maps must rely on 2020 census counts under state rules.
- DeSantis has pointed to rapid population growth and a likely Supreme Court ruling as reasons to proceed, and he said Justice Samuel Alito is writing the opinion, drawing concern from the National Democratic Redistricting Committee about the claim.
- An Emerson College poll found 56% of likely Florida voters view a mid‑decade redraw as a bad idea, including strong opposition from independents, despite support from most Republican respondents.
- In Virginia, early voting is underway for an April 21 referendum that would let the Democratic-controlled General Assembly temporarily adopt a new congressional map that Democrats say could cut as many as four Republican-leaning districts, with heavy pro-referendum spending and sharp rural pushback over diluted representation.
- The mid‑cycle map fight grew out of President Donald Trump’s call last year for red states to redo maps, which spurred counter-moves in blue states and left Florida’s session and Virginia’s vote as the final major battlegrounds before the midterms.