Florida Supreme Court Justice Jorge Labarga
The Florida congressional map that created four more Republican-leaning districts will remain in place for this year’s midterm elections after the state Supreme Court declined to intervene in a lawsuit alleging the map violates the state constitution.
On June 10, the high court denied petitioner Equal Ground Education Fund’s request to intervene in the First District Court of Appeal’s consideration of a trial court decision that rejected Equal Ground’s bid for a temporary injunction against the map.
“At this time, we do not have jurisdiction over that matter, and we do not simply assume that the First District’s decision will provide an appropriate basis for this court’s review,” the Supreme Court’s opinion states. “We add that no motions for rehearing will be considered.”
The plaintiffs’ arguments in the litigation center around the state constitution’s Fair Districts Amendment, a measure passed by voters that bars redistricting that favors a particular party or incumbent officeholders.
“The Florida Constitution is clear,” Equal Ground’s executive director, Genesis Robinson, said in the wake of the high court’s decision. “Districting maps should not be drawn to favor a political party. And by allowing a map designed to deliver approximately 86% of Florida's congressional districts to a single party to remain in place, the court has turned a blind eye to the very protections voters enshrined in our constitution.”
The court’s decision not to intervene at this time means the dispute over the legality of the Fair Districts Amendment won’t be resolved before the state’s primary election timeline kicks in, since June 12 was the filing deadline for candidates in November’s congressional elections.
“The Florida Supreme Court has REJECTED the challenge to the state’s redistricting plan and new map,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a statement provided to the Florida Record. “This assures that the recently enacted map will be in place for the 2026 election.”
The court system is meant to be a safeguard against government overreach and constitutional violations, according to Robinson, but the Supreme Court failed to do its duty and protect Floridians against a “brazen partisan power grab.”
Democracy Docket, an online media platform focusing on voting rights, noted that the only justice who dissented in the Equal Ground ruling was Jorge Labarga, who is the only member of the high court not appointed by DeSantis.
“... Our state’s constitution anticipates that some matters may be so urgent as to require an expedited path to this court,” Labarga said in his dissent. “Surely, the upcoming 2026 congressional elections affecting the representation of millions of Floridians meet that threshold …”
He also criticized the First District Court of Appeal for not formally passing the matter to the high court for an immediate review, given the time constraints related to upcoming congressional elections. The resolution of the lawsuit will almost certainly require the high court to rule on the legality of the 2010 Fair Districts Amendment, according to Labarga.
The district court also failed to expedite a challenge to a previous congressional map despite the approaching 2024 congressional elections, he noted. That court had an obligation to certify a direct review to the state Supreme Court in the event of a pending issue of “great public importance,” according to Labarga.
