Florida is one of the worst offenders when it comes to gerrymandering. Over the last two three presidential elections, we have been the largest swing state, splitting down the middle over that time (one tie, one for Bush, one for Obama). We have had strong democrats represent us in the Senate. Even so, we have so gerrymandered our state that our House representation skews strongly to the republican side. And our state legislature is 2/3 republican, also due in large part to gerrymandered districts.
Fair Districts Florida is trying to get a state constitutional amendment on the ballot that would amend our constitution in a way that significantly reduce the influence our politicians have over the redistricting process.
The new rules or standards proposed by FairDistrictsFlorida.org will prohibit drawing districts to favor an incumbent or a party. While ensuring that racial and language minority voters have the equal opportunity to participate in the political process, the standards will require that districts be compact and community based. Communities -- like Seminole County -- will not be divided among multiple representatives.
To be clear, both parties have engaged in redistricting offenses. The democrats have been as guilty in the past as the republicans are now. It is time to put a stop to all of it.
Gerrymandered districts can run for hundreds of miles, look like bizarre creatures from mythology, and ultimately allow a person from one end of the district to be represented by someone as much as a couple hundred miles away. Ideological redistricting should be unconstitutional, but the supreme court has ruled otherwise. There is even some merit in their argument that they do not wish to determine a better way of doing it. That is where the states come in. Florida allows voters to amend the constitution, and we have done so many times, even setting standards for pig farming. This amendment would have an immediate impact if passed, since the 2010 is almost upon us, then redistricting would follow soon thereafter.
Even if passed, this will probably not completely stop politicians from trying to set up the districts as they want. It will make them more accountable to their constituents, stop the run on districts, and ensure that communities are not broken apart.
The deadline for submitting petitions is June 30, and Fair Districts Florida still needs contributions to pay the required fees. Please help out if you can, here.