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Celebrate Now, Prepare for 2010

by Ann Hellmuth

The mood was jubilant and the message on the cake said it all: "Congratulations for protecting Florida voters’ rights."

It was time to celebrate and reflect on what was described as the "largest and broadest coalition of public policy groups coming together in Florida," the successful campaign to kill a last-minute bid during the legislative session to overhaul the state's voting rules, a proposal branded by opponents as anti-voter.

Efforts by thousands of people, who flooded Florida lawmakers with phone calls and emails voicing objections to the measure, were credited with forcing Republicans to abandon the legislation.

“There wasn’t any single issue more important than stopping that bill,” State Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, a Democrat from Sarasota told The New York Times. “It was such a grab bag of horrors.”

The victory and fears that a similar bill will reappear next year were discussed at the May 11 meeting of the 501 C3 Engagement Table, a wide-ranging group that includes the League of Women Voters of Florida Education Fund, FairDistricts Florida, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the NAACP National Voter Fund.

Bob Schaeffer, coordinator of the State Voices 501 C3 Civic Engagement Table who chaired the gathering, said it helped that the "voter suppression" bill was "so bad there was something to offend everyone."

More than two dozen C3 representatives at the Orlando meeting came up with a "list of things we did right," including grass roots mobilization, consistency and discipline in messaging, discipline within the groups, dedicated people on the ground in Tallahassee such as LWVF lobbyist Heather Walker, and an unrelenting push to the end. But Schaeffer warned the partners not to rest on their laurels and to begin preparing now for a similar battle in 2010.

Already one of the bill's sponsors has made it clear that a voting bill may be down but it isn't dead.

"We will have plenty of opportunity down the line to look at a full-scale election bill," State Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla, a Republican from Miami, told reporters at the end of the session.

Discussing likely 2010 ballot questions, Jacqueline Lee of FairDistricts Florida, got applause when she said that "signatures are pouring in at a record speed." Lee, who praised the efforts of volunteers and paid petition gatherers, said there was a June 1 goal to send in as many petitions as possible. She said polling showed that a high percentage of Florida voters are in favor of the proposed amendments to establish fair standards in drawing legislative and congressional districts.

Money will be key to winning the campaign, Lee predicted.

"We know what we are in for," Schaeffer said, adding that he expected opponents to launch a massive TV advertising campaign.

Ann Hellmuth attended in place of Adrienne Katz-Katz, the regular LWVF representative. LWVOC's Deirdre Macnab and Caroline Emmons Schramm also were present.