Florida House redistricting committee muzzles the public — once again

Tallahassee tiptoes toward Trump’s map makeover
Ladra has seen some shameless legislative antics in her day — and trust me, that bar is high — but what happened again Wednesday in Tallahassee deserves its own little trophy shaped like a locked microphone.
For the second meeting in a row, the Florida House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting gathered, smiled for the cameras, fidgeted with their binders… and then refused to hear a single word from the public. Not from voters. Not from advocates. Not even from the redistricting nerds who flew or drove hours to stand at the podium and tell lawmakers what the process actually requires under the Florida Constitution.
Nada. Cero. Muzzled. It didn’t matter if dozens of Floridians — people who drove hours from Miami, Tampa and the Florida Keys to get to the state capitol and talk to their representative government — got stuck in the peanut gallery like extras on a silent-film set.
Because when Donald Trump says jump, Tallahassee asks, “How many districts?”
Across the country, President Trump has been pressuring Republicans to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms — even in states like Florida, where the constitution very clearly says maps cannot be drawn for partisan advantage. You know, that pesky “Fair Districts” amendment voters passed so overwhelmingly that even the legislature pretends to respect it?
But that didn’t stop Orlando Democrat State Rep. Bruce Antone from trying to pierce the fog of denial. During a presentation from a redistricting expert, Antone pointed at the elephant in the room: “There’s been some statements made that if we redraw districts, they are intended to favor a particular party,” Antone started. “What are your thoughts on that, as we talk about the potential for redistricting this time around?”
Committee Chairman Mike “The Rover” Redondo — Miami’s own rising star in the “hear no evil, see no evil, ignore all inconvenient questions” caucus — shut him down faster than you can say “gerrymander.”
“We’re talking about statements by unknown folks and hypotheticals,” snapped Redondo. “Let’s try to keep it to the presentation.”
Translation: Stay in your lane, bro.
In the first meeting last week, Redondo — who represents District 118, which includes the Kendall-Tamiami area, Sunset Corners, and parts of Southwest Miami-Dade — said it was more of a “listening and learning session,” and that is why there was no public comment. He did not have an excuse this time.
Read related: In House 118 special election, 1st timer Republican Mike Redondo keeps it red
Here’s what makes this whole charade even more brazen: In the 2021–2022 redistricting cycle — you know, the normal one — lawmakers actually let people speak. They hosted hearings around the state. They took public testimony before proposed maps were introduced. ¡Imagínate!
But this committee? They’re sprinting through a mid-decade redistricting effort — something already legally suspect — while shutting out the very people whose representation is on the line. Decades of precedent? Pfft. Who needs that.
The lawsuit is almost certain. Like what happened in Miami in 2023 when the city commission also tried to silence the public as they carved up the districts to favor the incumbents.
Abdelilah Skhir, senior strategist at the ACLU of Florida, told the press in Tallahassee that this was unprecedented.
“When people travel hours to participate and they aren’t even given a chance to speak,” he said, “it shatters transparency and trust in this process.”
Ladra would add that it also confirms what everyone already suspects: the fix is in.
After Redondo banged the gavel and ended the meeting without opening public comment at all, a coalition of voting-rights groups unloaded — and honestly, they didn’t hold back. Their message: This is democracy dying in silence.
Florida For All Political Director Amina Spahić said lawmakers were serving “powerful interests and mega-donors who bankroll their campaigns,” instead of the communities they are supposed to represent.
“Redistricting has become the tool that supercharges corporate power, carving districts that protect politicians instead of communities,” she said. “And today, for the second time, they shut out public comment to keep Floridians from speaking up.”
Read related: Miami redistricting map is thrown out again, ACLU’s map is in for now
Jonathan Webber, Florida policy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, warned that the public’s presence was powerful — but meaningless if lawmakers refuse to hear them.
Equal Ground’s Genesis Robinson was even more blunt. “It is shameful and shows how little they value their constituents,” Robinson said in a statement. “If lawmakers are going to advance a process that threatens people’s voting rights, the very least they can do is give them an opportunity to speak and voice their position. We will not sit by and let democracy die in silence.”
And League of Women Voters Florida president Jessica Lowe-Minor reminded lawmakers there’s “no compelling reason” to redraw maps right now. “The people of Florida deserve better than a rush job done behind closed doors.”
They join a majority of Floridians who don’t want this.  A new poll shows 55% of Sunshine State voters oppose revisiting the maps now. That includes a plurality of Trump voters.
But that didn’t stop Redondo from ignoring the dozens of people in the room who came to put those objections on the record. Or the voting-rights groups who have warned — repeatedly — that mid-decade redistricting for partisan gain would violate the state Constitution.
“The [first] meeting was shockingly brief and insulting,” said Jackie Azis, the president of the League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg area. She was there. She wrote an op-ed in the Tampa Bay Times about the frustrating experience. “These same legislators who muted our voices at the meeting are the same decision makers trying to mute our voting power. We will not be deterred. We will not be silenced.”
Read related: Miami commission doesn’t want public comment or input on new redistricting
And yet, there we were again last week. Another meeting. Another locked mic. Another quiet little step toward a political map cooked behind closed doors.
When democracy is healthy, lawmakers open the doors wide. They ask people what they think. They let the public yell, cry, complain, testify, and hold them accountable.
When democracy is sick, politicians hide the ball.
Wednesday, the House Redistricting Committee, with eight Republicans and three Democrat legislators, didn’t just hide the ball. They locked it in a safe, swallowed the key, and told Floridians to sit quietly in the back and behave.
Calladitos se ven mas bonito.
Ladra will keep shining a light on this process. Even if Redondo won’t let anyone else speak.
Don’t just clutch your pearls and shake your heads at Tallahassee’s latest power grab. Pick up the phone. Open your laptop. Take five damn minutes and call, write, and email your state House rep and state senator and tell them — plainly, loudly, and with all the Miami spice you can muster — to stop cheating, stop breaking the law and say no to mid-decade redistricting.
Use the “Find Your Representative” tool at flhouse.gov and hit them where it counts: their inboxes. Urge them to vote down any attempt to redraw Florida’s congressional map before the 2030 Census. Remind them that partisan gerrymandering isn’t just slimy — it’s unconstitutional under the Fair Districts Amendments that Florida voters, with overwhelming support, put into our state constitution.
Tell them Floridians didn’t fight for fair districts just to watch politicians ignore the law the moment Trump whistles. We expect our electeds to follow the constitution — our constitution — and respect the will of the people who put them in office.

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