Tampa, Florida — Heads up: you might now be living in a different Senate district and not even know it!
State Senate maps had to change after the Florida Supreme Court ruled the districts were illegally drawn, not for fair representation between Republicans and Democrats, but instead to reinforce Republicans already in power.
Today, those 40 new districts were renumbered starting a political musical chairs for politicians trying to hold on to their positions.
Former Florida state Senator Mike Fasano says the saga up to today has been unacceptable.
"You know, many of those voters would not have this confusion come November had the legislature fulfilled its responsibility," he said.
Because this could mean big changes for you when you go to vote. The name you expect to see on your ballot for state senator could go right out out the window.
"For those voters who went out maybe two years ago will now be going to go to the polls and finding out their senator they've maybe had for several years is no longer on the ballot," Fasano said.
Through no fault of your own, you may not be able to vote for the state senator you just elected.
Take Senator Tom Lee in Brandon. He used to represent a huge swath of Hillsborough County. Now, his district has been divided, and he's going to have to move north to a new district if he wants to compete.
He's just one of all 40 senators up for re-election come November.
Senators in even districts will run for two-year terms this year followed by four-year terms in 2018 if they're not term limited out. Senators assigned odd numbers will run for four year terms in the fall.
So what's the story behind the story?
It's all about fairness in these numbers. 26 Senate Republicans and 14 Democrats.
"Right now, we've seen a large majority of Republicans in the Florida Senate," Fasano said. "You're probably going to see that change somewhat where Democrats pick up new Senate districts throughout the state."
Learn more:Florida Senate website
