Indivisible plans rallies around Florida to halt redistricting effort

As redistricting discussions heat up in Florida, Indivisible chapters will host rallies against gerrymandering the state.

“Redrawing the electoral map in Texas is just the beginning, and Florida may be next,” said Liv Coleman, a former Florida House candidate and a leader at Indivisible Manatee.

She announced that a rally will take place on University Parkway, in front of the Target shopping center on Cattlemen Road, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday. The event is part of a National Day of Action for Indivisible, a national progressive group.

Across the county from Coleman’s rally, a separate event will take place on Cortez Road in Bradenton from 10.a.m. to noon.

In Wilton Manors, the Broward County city will see a “Fight the Trump Takeover” rally begin at 5 Points at 10 a.m. and run to noon. An event kicks off at 11 a.m. in Vero Beach, where attendees will gather outside the Wells Fargo Bank on 58th Avenue.

In Palm Coast, an event runs from 11 a.m. until noon at Old Kings Road and Palm Coast Parkway Southeast.

And in Jacksonville, two events are scheduled — one at Cafe Resistance Bookstore & Coffee Shop on Soutel Drive from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., and another at Jenkins Barbeque on New Kings Road from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

The national organization is notably both opposing redistricting in red states like Florida and Texas and supporting counter-efforts in California and other blue states that plan to draw maps and create more Democratic-leaning House seats.

“Trump’s redistricting coup only works if blue states sit back and do nothing. We can’t let that happen,” reads Indivisible’s national website. “While Trump and MAGA Republicans try to redraw the map to guarantee themselves power, every Democratic-led state — whether it’s a full trifecta or a divided government — has a role to play in stopping this power grab cold.”

The group identified 15 “Democratic trifecta” states where Democratic control both chambers of the Legislature and the Governor’s mansion, and it has encouraged those states to prepare for mid-decade redistricting.

But in Florida, the group wants to stop the effort before it gets formally underway. Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez has already announced he will set up a select committee on congressional redistricting, and Gov. Ron DeSantis wants it to happen as well, along with a reapportionment of House seats by the Trump administration. But the Florida Senate has taken no action to date.

“In Florida and Georgia, MAGA operatives are laying the groundwork to revisit existing maps under the guise of ‘efficiency’ or ‘compliance,’” the Indivisible website warns.

Florida leaders say the goal this weekend will be to communicate that residents in the state don’t want to see a mid-decade redraw of Florida’s congressional lines.

“In Florida, Congressional district lines were drawn in 2022 after the last census. It’s too soon to redraw lines all over again, as well as a waste of taxpayer resources when we’re facing a statewide affordability crisis,” Coleman said. “Rigging the lines is undemocratic and voters should choose their representatives, rather than gerrymandering the other way around.”