Manipulating Florida’s U.S. House districts is a betrayal | Opinion
I'm a recently retired social studies teacher voicing opposition to the current attempt to gerrymander our state's U.S. House districts. This effort violates the 2010 Fair Districts Amendment, which clearly assures that "no district is drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent" and "no plan denies racial or language minorities the ability to participate in the political process."
The current effort toward mid-decade redistricting, highly unusual, follows pressure by President Trump, and is not aligned with the position of most citizens in Gov. DeSantis' so-called "free" State of Florida. It's a political stunt serving the president's self-interest; such partisan political activity by a federal employee violates the spirit of the Hatch Act. It also violates the main tenet of federalism, which separates the functions of federal and state governments - redistricting is state matter.
If successful, this overtly partisan effort to change our state's congressional districts will open the door for more abuses by future regimes, despite the party being in power.
The most recent gerrymander of U.S. House districts resulted in 20 Republican seats and eight Democrat seats in the Florida delegation. Over 71% of the seats are in Republican hands. As of October 2025, Republicans represent just over 57% of Florida voters identified with either of the two major parties. When compared to all non-Republican voters in the state (independents, etc.), Republicans constitute 41% of the electorate.
Evidently having 71% of the districts is not enough to ensure permanent one-party dominance. Republicans stand to gain three to five seats if successful. Capturing three districts will give Republicans over 82% of the seats. Is this just?
Civics education is something of paramount importance in a democracy. I've noticed that young people will home in on the right-or-wrongness of a particular action by our government. When the subject of drawing district maps was discussed in my government classes, students overwhelmingly opposed partisanship in the process. To them, it's a no-brainer. The students advocate for an independent, non-partisan commission to decide on the make-up of districts.
For young people, fairness is a primary concern; violations of basic fairness discourage them from becoming involved in the political process. As we well know, the founders of our Republic recognized that citizen education and involvement in the important matters of our country are the linchpins of a functioning democracy. An uninformed and disengaged electorate portends a bleak future, indeed.
Redistricting should not be a partisan matter. Imagine if the legislature, instead of wasting resources on swindling voters, does right by the people by drafting a constitutional amendment to create an independent redistricting commission, thus removing the allure of partisan gerrymandering, where self-interested politicians pick their voters, as opposed to the voters picking their representatives? Legislators must uphold the Florida's Constitution and oppose a blatant and frankly, un-American effort to subvert the will of Florida's citizens.
The ability to vote in free and fair elections is sacred. Period.
Doug Currey of Tallahassee is a fifth-generation Floridian, recently retired from teaching in Leon County after 24 years in public education.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Gerrymandering Florida's U.S. House districts is a betrayal | Opinion
