Fair Districts amendments

The Fair Districts amendments are two provisions added to the Florida Constitution in 2010 by voter referendum, passing with over 60% of the vote. Amendment 5 covers congressional districts; Amendment 6 covers state legislative districts. They prohibit drawing lines to favour or disfavour incumbents or political parties, and they ban maps that diminish minority voting power. Florida courts overturned maps under the amendments in 2012 and 2015, but the Florida Supreme Court weakened enforcement in 2022.

Governor Ron DeSantis's April 2026 redistricting special session produced a 24R-4D congressional map that critics argued directly violated the amendments' anti-partisan-manipulation provisions . The Equal Ground Education Fund filed a Fair Districts challenge in the Hawkes case, which a circuit judge weighed in May 2026 ahead of the 8 June qualifying deadline . On 10 June 2026 the Florida Supreme Court voted 6-1 to decline jurisdiction, deferring to the First District Court of Appeal rather than ruling on the merits . All six justices who declined were DeSantis appointees; the sole dissenter, Justice Jorge Labarga, was the only one not appointed by DeSantis.

Three days later, the US House candidate qualifying Deadline closed at noon on 13 June, locking the 24R-4D map for the November 2026 election before any appeal could reach the merits. The Equal Ground challenge continues at the First District Court of Appeal but can no longer produce a 2026 remedy; the constitutional question is now retrospective. The amendments remain in the Florida Constitution but have been rendered procedurally inert for the 2026 cycle by a combination of jurisdictional avoidance and a statutory qualifying clock.