Story perspectives

Judge Upholds Florida 2026 Congressional Map Favoring Republicans

5/27/2026

Summary

Story summary

Judge Joshua Hawkes upheld Florida’s new congressional map for the 2026 elections.
He said the election machinery is already underway, making a last-minute change impractical.
The map was drawn by Governor Ron DeSantis’ aide Jason Poreda, who used partisan data.
Plaintiffs Common Cause and the Equal Ground Education Fund argue the map violates the 2010 Fair Districts Amendment, which the governor’s office projects could give Republicans four House seats.

History

Historical Context

The 1962 Supreme Court decision in Baker v. Carr, a 6-2 ruling, declared redistricting a justiciable issue under the Fourteenth Amendment, prompting the 1964 “one-person-one-vote” rulings of Wesberry v. Sanders and Reynolds v. Sims. That precedent now underlies Judge Joshua Hawkes’s 2024 affirmation of Florida’s map drawn by Ron DeSantis aide Jason Poreda, which Common Cause challenges under the 2010 Fair Districts Amendment.

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Story summary

Judge Joshua Hawkes upheld Florida’s new congressional map for the 2026 elections.
He said the election machinery is already underway, making a last-minute change impractical.
The map was drawn by Governor Ron DeSantis’ aide Jason Poreda, who used partisan data.
Plaintiffs Common Cause and the Equal Ground Education Fund argue the map violates the 2010 Fair Districts Amendment, which the governor’s office projects could give Republicans four House seats.

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