Redistricting FAQs
What is Redistricting?
Each of Florida's 28 United States Representatives, 40 State Senators, and 120 State Representatives are elected from political divisions called districts. The Palm Beach County Commission and School Board also have districts. Redistricting is the process for updating the maps for these various districts to balance the population after each census.
You can learn more about U.S. House, Florida Senate, and Florida House redistricting by visiting the Florida Legislature’s Redistricting website.
What Are Districts?
Each of Florida's U.S. Representatives, State Senators, and State Representatives are elected from specific geographic regions called districts. You can find district maps for each of these legislative bodies on the Voting District Maps page of our website listed under the Records and Data tab.
Why Are Districts Changing?
Every ten years, the United States census counts each person in the country. The Census Bureau uses this information to assign seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to each state. This is known as “reapportionment.” Since Florida’s population increased, we gained a seat in the House of Representatives, growing from 27 to 28 seats. Legislators must draw new district lines to add the new seat to Florida’s map of congressional districts.
Elected officials must also make sure that the population is evenly distributed across all the districts. Since millions of people have moved, died, or been born since the last census, district lines for federal, state, and local offices must be redrawn so that each district includes the same number of people. This ensures that every voter has the same amount of power when casting their ballot.
Click here to learn more about the 2020 U.S. Census from the United States Census Bureau website.
Who is in Charge of Redistricting?
U.S. House of Representatives Districts
The Florida Legislature is responsible for drawing new maps for Florida’s U.S. House of Representative districts.
Florida House and Florida Senate Districts
The Florida Legislature is responsible for drawing new maps for Florida Senate and Florida House districts.
Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners
The Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners is responsible for the County Commissioner seats.
Palm Beach County School Board
The Palm Beach County School Board is responsible for drawing new maps for the School Board Districts.
Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office
Our office does not draw district lines. However, we do play a part in the redistricting process. Once the new districts are drawn, we must draw new precinct lines. We update the precinct boundaries so that they align with the new district maps for federal, state, and local offices. We then assign each voter to the precinct that includes their address. This process is known as “reprecincting.”
Each precinct has an associated Election Day polling place. Since precincts are changing, some polling places will change as well. Starting with the 2022 Primary Election, some voters will have new Election Day polling places. If there is a change that affects you, we will let you know.
How Will I Learn About my New Districts and Polling Place?
We have mailed all registered voters a new voter information card. The card lists your districts, your precinct, and the address of your Election Day polling place.
You can check your current districts, precinct, and Election Day polling place by using the Voter Information Lookup on the My Status page.
Legal References
US Constitution
Federal Law
- Voting Rights Act of 1965 – Prohibits voting practices and procedures, including redistricting, which discriminate based on race, color, or membership in a language minority group.
Florida Constitution
- Article III, Section 16 - Requires the Florida Legislature to divide the state into 30 to 40 contiguous senatorial districts and 80 to 120 contiguous house districts.
- Article III, Sections 20 & 21 - Prohibits line-drawing that intentionally favors or disfavors a political party or an incumbent.
- Article VIII, Section 1(e) – Sets the size of county commissions at five or seven members and requires redistricting after each census. Districts must be of contiguous territory and nearly equal population.
- Article IX, Section 4(a) – Creates school boards and districts.
Florida Statutes
- Section 11.031 – Requires that Florida Legislature exclusively use data from the U.S. Census Bureau to redraw districts.
- Section 124.01 – Sets standards for county commissioner districts.
- Section 1001.36 – Sets standards for school board districts.