Redistricting Reform:
Why Your Votes on Amendments 5 and 6 Are the Most Important You'll Cast in November
Do you care about the future of Florida's schools? Or maybe preserving the environment is your biggest concern. Maybe reducing taxes or creating jobs? Promoting alternative energy? No matter what you think are the most important issues, if you care about building a better future for Florida then your biggest concern this election should be passing Amendments 5 and 6.
Until citizens can hold their elected leaders accountable in fair elections, lobbyists and special interests will always have more influence in Tallahassee than citizens do. That's why redistricting reform is so important.
Every ten years, after the national census, every state is required to redraw their Congressional and legislative districts. "Gerrymandering" is when the political party in power draws those boundaries to its advantage in elections.
If you take a close look at this map of Florida's Congressional districts or this map of Florida's state house districts, you can see that many of the districts wind around each other, splitting cities and counties, even crossing from one coast to the other, with no logical geographical divisions. Those funny-shaped districts were carefully drawn to maximize the electoral chances of one political party over the other.
The party in power at the time of redistricting uses sophisticated computer software to draw districts that have so many voters of their party that its almost impossible for them to lose. These are called "safe seats." Remember those funny-shaped districts you just looked at? Those are drawn to pull most of the other party's voters out of all the surrounding seats to create as many safe seats as possible.
And what effect does this have on how our elected leaders govern? It has created smug arrogance in Tallahassee. You see, most members of Florida's legislature know that when they face reelection the deck is so stacked in their favor it's almost impossible for them to lose. That's why they can do whatever they want up there without worrying about what voter's think or what's really best for Florida.
Over the last decade, there have been several efforts to enact standards and guidelines for redistricting to ensure that districts are drawn fairly, requiring districts that are compact, with lines that follow existing city and county borders and geographic boundaries like large bodies of water. Districts could not be drawn to favor or disfavor any incumbent or political party.
A bipartisan organization called Fair Districts Florida has successfully led a citizen's initiative putting two amendments on the 2010 ballot to create Constitutional redistricting standards that will prevent gerrymandering and ensure fair elections -- Amendments 5 and 6. You can visit their website to learn more.
Take Action
Besides voting for Amendments 5 and 6 in November, the most important thing you can do is to make sure your friends, colleagues, family and neighbors are fully informed about these proposed amendments. The politicians in power who benefit from the existing system aren't going to let it go without a fight -- that means lots of misleading television commercials and mailers with distortions of the facts. We'll need a grassroots effort to get the truth out and make sure that voters go to the polls knowing the real purpose of Amendment 5 and 6 and understanding how important it is to pass them.
Here are some ways you can help:
- Use our easy tell-a-friend tool to email this article to everyone you can think of.
- Post a link to the article on your Facebook page. (While you're at it, be sure to become a friend of CIVIC on Facebook, and urge others to join you!)
- Sign up for CIVIC's email updates so we can keep you informed about ways you can help as Election Day gets closer.