Fault's with ballot wording, not redistricting cause

Fault's with ballot wording, not redistricting cause

March 24, 2006

Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL)

More than 930,000 Florida voters signed petitions supporting a constitutional amendment to change the extremely partisan method in which voting districts are created in this state. Yet, they will not be able to effect change at the ballot this November. In a 6-1 decision, the Florida Supreme Court said Thursday the proposed amendment creating an independent redistricting commission did not meet the required single-subject test and that its ballot summary was misleading.

Backers of the petition - principally Common Cause of Florida and the Florida League of Women Voters - are disappointed. Yet, they should not give up hope. They should regroup and try again for the 2008 ballot.

This is not the first time citizens have suffered a setback in trying to change Florida 's unfair redistricting system. In other times, efforts to revise it have been killed by self-serving politicians. The justices, though, were clearly not being political in their opinion and underlined that they were not judging the merits of the proposed amendment. Indeed, they dismissed charges brought by partisan interests that the amendment would have altered the function of government by removing the Legislature from congressional and legislative redistricting .

The opinion, while discouraging, can be used as a guide for writing new language for another petition drive - in time to create change before the 2010 U.S. census, which triggers the redistricting process.

The justices said the proposed amendment addresses two subjects by not only calling for changes in who draws the voting boundaries but also in setting tougher standards for creating those boundaries. Justices said the ballot language could also mislead voters to believe it was a nonpartisan method of redistricting when many of the members of the proposed independent commission would be appointed by elected state officials.

The cause supported by this petition is crucial for fair and impartial elections.

The Florida Constitution authorizes the Legislature to draw voting boundaries. Over the years, the system has been abused by the political party in power, Democratic or Republican. Historically, legislative leaders - working behind closed doors - purposefully configure districts to dilute the voting power of the opposing party and to assure the re-election of incumbents by discouraging challengers.

In the last redistricting in 2001, with Republicans in power, Volusia County , which had an overall majority Democratic electorate, was divided into four Senate districts and six House districts. Likewise, across the state, Democratic strongholds were diluted by linking them to areas overwhelmingly Republican. In 2004, of the 142 open seats in the Legislature, only 39 were contested.

The redistricting proposal championed by Common Cause and the League of Women Voters would have given challengers a fairer chance and voters more choice. A dozen other states have independent bodies that establish equal and contiguous voting districts, a core element of democracy. Florida 's voters deserve that as well. The court's opinion is disheartening but it should not be the end of a just cause.

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