Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has postponed a special legislative session on redistricting by one week, now scheduled for April 28-May 1. The delay gives his team more time to propose a new congressional map that could create up to five additional Republican-leaning seats in the state. DeSantis also added two new agenda items: legislation protecting minors from artificial intelligence and a "medical freedom" bill allowing vaccine opt-outs for students.

Florida remains one of the last two major redistricting battlegrounds, with Virginia being the other. Some Republicans worry that mid-decade redistricting could backfire as President Trump's approval ratings decline, especially after Democrats won recent special elections. The state's Fair Districts amendments, passed in 2010, effectively ban partisan gerrymandering, but DeSantis cites an upcoming Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act as justification for new maps.

The state Senate, led by Republican President Ben Albritton, will not draft its own map but expects the governor's office to propose one. Senator Clay Yarborough will file the vaccine bill, which would create a "conscience exemption" for K-12 students and allow over-the-counter ivermectin sales. Representative Byron Donalds, the Republican frontrunner to succeed DeSantis, has called for redistricting to help maintain Republican control of Congress while promising compliance with Fair Districts requirements.