Recently, Florida State Conference of the NAACP, Dream Defenders, The Black Collective, Florida Rising Together, Advancement Project, and Community Justice Project filed amicus briefs to support a coalition of voting rights plaintiffs seeking to overturn Florida’s 2026 congressional redistricting map as an illegal partisan gerrymander. The briefs urge Florida appellate courts to reinstate Florida’s previous district boundaries, which were enacted in 2022, for the upcoming midterm elections while the litigation continues. Read one of their amicus briefs here.

The voting rights organizations filed the briefs in the Florida Supreme Court and the First District Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court’s decision not to block the 2026 map now means that case will proceed in the First District Court, which is considering appeals of the Leon County Circuit Court’s May 26 order rejecting the plaintiffs’ requests to temporarily block the new map.

The voting rights advocates’ amicus briefs argue that there is no factual or legal support for the Circuit Court’s suggestion that the 2022 congressional map was tainted by racial considerations.  The briefs point out that multiple state and federal courts have rejected challenges to the 2022 map, and that the State is defending the 2022 map right now against claims it was racially gerrymandered in another case.

The amicus briefs also argue that Florida’s Fair Districts Amendments (FDA), amendments to the state constitution that were enacted by Florida voters in 2010 with nearly 63% of the vote, remain constitutional following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais. The Fair Districts Amendments prohibit partisan gerrymandering and racial discrimination in redistricting.

“Florida is working hard to silence the voices of Black communities and other communities of color,” said Hani Mirza, Director of the Power & Democracy Program at Advancement Project. “We are proud to support Black and brown communities in Florida push back against the State’s actions alongside NAACP Florida, Democracy Defenders, The Black Collective, Florida Rising Together, and Community Justice Project. While we are disappointed that the Florida Supreme Court refused to hear the matter sooner on procedural grounds, we remain firm in our call to reinstate the 2022 map and protect the Fair Districts Amendments.”

“This Florida congressional map threatens to dilute the political power of Black voters and undermines hard-fought protections against racial discrimination in redistricting,” said Derrick Johnson, NAACP President and CEO. “The Fair Districts Amendments were enacted to ensure that Black communities have a fair and equal opportunity to elect representatives of their choice, not to be erased through rushed, closed-door map-drawing. We vehemently disagree with the Supreme Court’s ruling and will continue to work to turn out voters for the midterm election.”

“Florida NAACP worked tirelessly in 2010 to enshrine the Fair Districts Amendments into the Florida Constitution,” said Florida NAACP President Donald Hart, Sr. “We worked to immortalize the will of the people who demanded that maps not be drawn with partisan intent. But state lawmakers have just enacted a congressional map to favor one political party while stealing power from voters, especially Black and brown voters. Florida NAACP will continue to fight for a Florida big enough for all voters to participate in.”

“The Florida Supreme Court’s decision is a blow to Black and Latino voters across the state. By allowing this gerrymandered map to remain in place for the 2026 midterms, the Court has left voters casting ballots in districts that weaken our communities’ political power. But this fight is bigger than any one district or election. It is about whether Florida voters get to shape our democracy, or whether politicians can redraw the rules whenever it helps them stay in power,” said Moné Holder, Chief Advocacy and Political Officer at Florida Rising Together. “Florida Rising joined this amicus brief because Floridians already made their will clear when they passed the Fair Districts Amendment. Politicians should not be able to carve up Black and brown communities, weaken their political power, and then pretend voters still have a fair shot at representation. We are proud to stand with our partners in defense of the protections Floridians put in our Constitution, and we will keep fighting until our maps reflect our communities, not the ambitions of politicians.”

“Communities do not exist to serve political maps; political maps must serve communities. The dismantling of districts that allowed Black voters to meaningfully participate in the democratic process undermines decades of progress toward equitable representation,” said Valencia Gunder, Executive Director, The Black Collective. “We stand in opposition to any redistricting scheme that weakens the collective voice of Black Floridians and erodes the fundamental promise of democracy.”

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Advancement Project is a next-generation, multi-racial civil rights organization. Rooted in the great human rights struggles for equality and justice, we exist to fulfill America’s promise of a caring, inclusive, and just democracy. We use innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high-impact policy change. Visit www.advancementproject.org to learn more.

Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Our mission  is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.

Source: Advancement Project