Shevrin Jones wants to bar mid-decade redistricting now and forever

Sen. Shevrin Jones wants to ban Florida from mid-decade redistricting.

The Miami Gardens Democrat filed legislation to do so, just as Gov. Ron DeSantis and House Speaker Daniel Perez push to redraw Florida’s lines before the 2026 Midterms.

Jones said such political maneuvering will only hurt voters.

“The fight for fair districts is paramount — it’s about ensuring every single voter’s voice is not just heard, but truly represented in government at every level,” Jones said. “When district lines are drawn fairly and with transparency, not to tip the scales for one political party or another, we can actually empower and strengthen our communities.”

He filed the Voter Protection in Redistricting Act (SB 112), which would mandate that the only time the Legislature could redraw Florida’s legislative or congressional lines was in the second year after the federal census, which typically takes place once a decade.

That notably leaves some room if an entire new census is conducted, something DeSantis and President Donald Trump toyed with earlier this year. A new population count could mandate a reapportionment of U.S. House seats and a redrawing of any political lines.

But the legislation would stop any remaking of the lines absent a census, as the House is exploring right now.

Perez in August announced a Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting. In September, he tapped Rep. Mike Redondo, a Miami Republican, to lead the effort. The committee will only look at congressional lines, and Perez said he has no interest in redrawing lines for the Florida House and Senate.

That comes after Texas redrew its congressional lines in a partisan move aimed at expanding the Republican majority in Congress by creating an additional five congressional seats.

Florida notably has a Fair Districts amendment in its constitution that forbids drawing maps to favor or disfavor a political party.

But DeSantis has pushed for the Legislature to revisit lines after the Florida Supreme Court upheld the map his office drew, which he signed in 2022. The court decision effectively tossed parts of the Fair Districts amendment that prohibited the diminishment of minority voting power.

Of note, while the House has named committee members and taken active steps toward considering a new map this Legislative Session, the Senate, where Jones serves, has yet to make any moves toward drawing new lines.

There is no companion bill in the House right now to Jones’ legislation.