Gov. Ron DeSantis has issued a proclamation for a late April special session to change Florida’s congressional maps.
The Wednesday proclamation calls in lawmakers from April 20 to 24. The regular legislative session, which begins next week, is set to end March 13.
DeSantis had previously said he wanted a special session in the spring, but this action further pits him against the House on the redistricting issue.
The chamber wants to take up redistricting in the regular session. Republican Rep. Mike Redondo of Miami, chair of the House redistricting committee, said last month waiting longer would be "irresponsible” with the 2026 election so close.
But DeSantis said at a Wednesday morning press conference he wants to wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on a case that could change how race factors into drawing political boundaries.
“I have a very high degree of confidence that at least one or two of those districts on our current map are going to be implicated by this Supreme Court decision,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis also said how Florida's population has changed in recent years has made it necessary to redraw districts, though the state would still have to use 2020 Census data in doing so.
"Our population has changed so much in the last four or five years, we need to get apportioned properly, and people deserve equal representation," he said.
“When you're making judgments about where to draw a line, I think it's totally appropriate to use as a factor how the population may have shifted in a given area."
When contacted for comment over email, House spokesperson Amelia Angleton said only, "We were made aware of the proclamation this morning."
Today, I announced that I will be convening a Special Session of the Legislature focused on redistricting to ensure that Florida’s congressional maps accurately reflect the population of our state. Every Florida resident deserves to be represented fairly and constitutionally.…
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 7, 2026
Florida's current congressional map already disproportionately favors Republicans with 20 compared with only eight Democrats. At President Donald Trump's urging, Texas approved a congressional map adding five Republican-leaning seats. And he pressed other Republican states to do the same, igniting a redistricting battle between Democratic and GOP states.
State Senate President Ben Albritton had already said he supports a spring special session. He acknowledged DeSantis’ call in a Wednesday afternoon memo.
“There is no ongoing work regarding mid-decade redistricting taking place in the Senate at this time,” he wrote. “I’ll continue to monitor legal developments and will keep you updated.”
Following the proclamation, Secretary of State Cord Byrd pushed back the qualifying deadline for congressional candidates.
In 2010, Florida voters approved state constitutional protections against partisan gerrymandering. In a Wednesday afternoon press conference, House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa said this plan would conflict with that.
"This is an illegal partisan gerrymander happening because Donald Trump asked for it," Driskell said. "Trump wants to rig the midterm elections to prevent the American people from holding his administration accountable."
Evan Power, chair of the Republican Party of Florida, has said he thinks three to five Republican seats could be added.
If you have any questions about state government or the legislative process, you can ask the Your Florida team by clicking here.
This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
