CLEARWATER — A group of Florida voters urged the Pinellas County legislative delegation on Wednesday to oppose an effort led by Gov. Ron DeSantis to pursue a mid-decade congressional redistricting plan designed to keep the U.S. House in Republican control in 2026.
“Floridians have clearly said that they don’t want partisan gerrymandering,” said Amy Weintraub, of the League of Women Voters St. Petersburg branch, referring to the Fair Districts amendments passed by 63% of Florida registered voters in 2010.
The measures say in part that “no apportionment plan or individual district shall be drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent.”
Weintraub was one of more than 130 people who originally signed up to comment to the nine-member Pinellas County legislative delegation who gathered at the Clearwater branch of St. Petersburg College (only eight were in attendance, with Democratic Rep. Lindsay Cross absent). It’s a ritual being played out in all 67 counties in Florida in advance of the regular legislative session that begins in January.
“Floridians passed the Fair District Amendments to ensure fairness, accountability, and transparency in redistricting,” said Simon Adams, field manager for the group Equal Ground. “These laws must be respected. To ignore them is to ignore the will of the people.”
“Redistricting should be about ensuring that every person’s voice counts equally,” added Geveryl Robinson with the group Black Voters Matter. “Fair maps means that neighborhoods are kept whole. That communities of interest are not spread apart, and that elected officials are accountable to the people they serve, not partisan interests. When lines are drawn unfairly, it undermines trust in the process, weakens voters confidence, and ultimately harms our democracy.”
Gov. DeSantis never mentioned the idea of redrawing Florida’s congressional map this year until late July. That was shortly after President Donald Trump, fearful that the GOP could lose its narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representative in the 2026 midterm elections, called on Texas and other red states to redraw their congressional boundaries to bolster the Republicans’ margins next year.
No government is further along with the process than the Lone Star State. Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new congressional map into law at the end of last month designed to give the GOP five more seats (groups representing Black and Latino voters have filed lawsuits asking that the maps be blocked from going into effect). In Missouri, Republicans have advanced measures to bring a referendum on a new congressional map next year.
The only blue state to move on the matter is California, where lawmakers have approved a proposal that will go before the voters this November asking them to approve a congressional redistricting map that would likely add more Democratic seats.
At least one chamber of Florida’s Legislature is good with DeSantis’ proposal for redistricting ahead of next year’s midterms. House Speaker Daniel Perez announced last month that he has created a selection committee on congressional redistricting. It has yet to meet but is likely to do so later this fall (Senate President Ben Albritton has not assigned a similar committee in his chamber).
The sentiment expressed against a mid-decade congressional redistricting echoes the overall opinions of Floridians when asked about the issue.
A public opinion survey commissioned by Common Cause earlier this month found that a majority of Floridians – 55% – oppose such an effort, with only 26% in support and another 19% undecided. Among Republicans, 45% oppose the measure, with only 36% supporting it. Among political independent voters, 60% are against a congressional redistricted map in 2026.
Tanya Landry, president of the League of Women Voters of North Pinellas County, said that her organization remains committed to empowering voters and defending democracy.
“Today I rise to honor that mission by standing firmly against mid-cycle redistricting,” she said to whoops from the crowd. “Mid-cycle redistricting threatens the very foundation of fair representation. When district lines are changed during the middle of an election cycle, it undermines stability, fairness, and public trust in our democracy in a number of ways. First and foremost, it destabilizes the electoral process. Voters deserve to know who represents them for the duration of a cycle.”
Florida has 28 members in the U.S. House: 20 of them are Republicans and 8 are Democrats.
While the stated opposition to a mid-decade congressional district map elicited the largest cheers from the audience, there were a couple of other issues that received criticism from attendees.
Senate bill 180 also a focus
One was Senate Bill 180, the piece of legislation sponsored by Pinellas Republican Nick DiCeglie (who was voted chair of the delegation for the coming year by his colleagues) aimed primary to streamline restoration efforts and improve emergency response coordination following a major storm.
However, a provision that bars new local land-use or development regulations considered “restrictive or burdensome,” even if they are completely unrelated to storm recovery, has raised the ire of more than a dozen local governments that have indicated they intend to sue to have the law repealed.
“The original intent of that bill is good policy, and we support most of the provisions in Senate Bill 180,” said Haley Busch, a staff member with 1000 Friends of Florida. But she said that two particular provisions that prohibit updates to comprehensive plans, zoning, or development rules deemed to be “burdensome” is a real problem.
“In practice, this blocks local governments from adopting critical measures like stronger flood plain protections and stormwater protections, or requiring water and sewer connections, leaving communities more vulnerable,” she said. “And it also invites lawsuits that strips citizens of their ability to shape their community’s future growth. So, we don’t think that’s what this Legislature intended. We’re looking to work with senators and representatives to make some changes to the bill.”
Concerns expressed on potential ban on vaccine mandates
Another proposal that the public gathered in Clearwater clearly isn’t for is the measure announced by DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo to eliminate vaccine mandates in the Sunshine State.
“I urge you to stop the surgeon general from eliminating the required vaccines by codifying in the statutes all vaccines in section 1003.22,” said John Bowen, a retired school board attorney. “I also urge you to vote against any proposal to eliminate the immunizations in the statute. Please do not ignore all the existing medical evidence showing the effect of this vaccine over the past several decades.”
Another Pinellas resident was more succinct.
“Please fire the Florida surgeon general,” Johna Holloway, speaking as an individual, said to large cheers from the crowd, referring to Ladapo.
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This article appears in Sept. 25 – Oct. 1, 2025.