The Florida Supreme Court has rejected an emergency petition by civil rights advocates to halt implementation of the state’s newly redrawn congressional district map, which could give Florida Republicans the chance to cut Democratic representation in half.

The decision released Wednesday allows the map to continue to be used for the ongoing candidate-qualifying process and the high-stakes 2026 midterm elections. Candidate qualifying for Florida’s congressional races ends June 12.

In a 6-1 opinion, the court’s conservative justices found they lack jurisdiction over the case, which they said must first proceed through an ongoing appeals process. 

The decision does not end the legal battle over redistricting and does not directly address the merits of the case brought by voter advocates, who argued the map should be tossed out for flouting the voter-backed Fair Districts Amendment to the state constitution, which prohibits the drawing of maps that “favor or disfavor an incumbent or political party.” Advocates of the new map say it need not comply with that provision.

“This court’s denial of the requested writ in this case simply reflects its respect for the constitution’s allocation of judicial power across the State’s different courts and the limited authority the constitution gives us to intervene in appeals pending in the district courts,” reads a concurring opinion penned by Justice Adam Tanenbaum, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ most recent appointee to the court.

“The people of Florida can rest assured that elections will take place this year — under a redistricting law and an election code enacted by their Legislature,” the opinion continues. 

The new map — which was drafted by DeSantis’ office and rushed through the GOP-controlled Legislature — is expected to give Republicans the chance to wrest control of up to 24 of the state’s 28 congressional districts.

Attorneys representing state officials have defended the plan — which the map’s drafter acknowledged to legislators relied on partisan data, in a potential violation of Florida law. 

Now that it’s signed into law, blocking implementation of the new map so close to the election would risk “confusion and chances for errors,” they argued. 

Lawyers for the state have maintained that the anti-gerrymandering provision of the state constitution — which voters approved in 2010 — is unconstitutional and shouldn’t be enforced, after the state Supreme Court previously weakened a part of the provision that protected the ability of racial and linguistic minorities to “elect representatives of their choice.” 

”The danger is apparent: Allowing a law to stumble along after a court has excised some of its component parts undermines the entire legislative scheme. The danger becomes more acute when confronting language — as here — adopted by citizen initiative,” reads a court filing signed by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.

In a post on social media, Uthmeier trumpeted Wednesday’s opinion as “complete and total victory.”

Justice Jorge Labarga, the only one of the court’s seven members not appointed by DeSantis, wrote a dissenting opinion, disputing the lack of jurisdiction and pointing to a provision in the state constitution recognizing that some matters deserve an expedited path to the high court.

“Surely, the upcoming 2026 congressional elections affecting the representation of millions of Floridians meet that threshold,” Labarga wrote.

“Unfortunately, for now, and with a filing deadline and an election fast approaching,” he added, “we will not have the opportunity to review the issues of statewide importance raised in the petitioners’ efforts to enjoin Florida’s 2026 congressional map.”

Attorneys for civil rights groups had urged the court to put the new map on hold and to instead rely on the state’s previous map, approved by lawmakers in 2022, for this fall’s midterm elections. Critics of the new map fear it’s designed to tee up what could be a decisive blow to the court’s anti-gerrymandering standards.

“This petition presents a simple question: whether Florida’s political branches can openly defy the Florida Constitution and escape judicial review for an entire election cycle simply by attempting to run out the clock. The answer from this Court should be a resounding no,” attorneys for the Equal Ground Education Fund wrote.

Florida lawmakers voted largely along party lines in April to rubber-stamp the new congressional district map drafted not by the Legislature’s redistricting experts but by DeSantis’ staff, in a process that voter advocates decried as an “undemocratic power grab.”

It was drawn behind closed doors. The first time the public glimpsed the map was after the governor’s office shared the proposal exclusively with Fox News — color-coded in red and blue to show the intended electoral outcomes — before releasing the map to state lawmakers.

The map has already had a seismic effect on Florida’s political geography – forcing candidates from both parties to jump into new races for new districts, including an incumbent member of Congress. 

Veteran Orlando-area Republican Rep. Daniel Webster announced his retirement from Congress the day after the map was released, saying he wanted to spend more time with family. Webster is among the GOP incumbents who had criticized the redistricting frenzy kickstarted by President Donald Trump, warning it was a “slippery slope” and “can come back and bite you.”

Kate Payne is The Florida Trib’s state government reporter. She can be reached at kate.payne@floridatrib.org.