Fair Districts Committee| League of Women Voters Orange County Florida

UPDATE – As you have probably read, the new census data is out for Florida!

We now have updated population information by county. Check out our website, www.fairdistrictsnow.org, for an interactive map to see how your county has changed over the past 10 years!

And don’t forget to join us in the fight for FairDistricts Now!

So what happened to the FairDistricts Amendments? Politicians are doing everything they can to stop them from going into effect -- that’s what. Clearly these politicians want to be able to continue drawing districts for their own political advantage – even though voters said overwhelmingly (63%) they want to stop political gerrymandering. I am writing to let you know about the formation of FairDistricts Now and to ask you to be a part of our new effort to compel Tallahassee politicians to fully comply with the redistricting rules YOU established through YOUR hard work, contributions and votes!

It is clear that the powerful politicians are very unhappy with your vote for Amendments 5 and 6. In the middle of the night on November 3rd – before the last votes were even counted – two Members of Congress went to court to try to get the amendments thrown out! Then, Speaker Dean Cannon and the Florida House of Representatives decided to use YOUR taxpayer dollars to join in that suit.

Governor Rick Scott joined the fray by delaying the implementation of the FairDistricts amendments. As required by federal law, former Governor Crist submitted the amendments to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval. Within two days of taking office, Governor Scott withdrew that request.

Clearly these politicians want to be able to continue drawing districts for their own political advantage – even though a supermajority told them to stop this selfish practice.

But supporters of the FairDistricts Amendments are fighting back!

The Florida NAACP, ACLU, Democracia and a number of individual voters stepped up to defend the amendments in the case brought by the politicians. Then the Florida League of Women Voters and others filed suit against Governor Scott to compel him to stop playing politics with the Florida Constitution and resubmit the amendments to the Justice Department for approval.

We stand with these dedicated Floridians and will assist their efforts in any way we can. Will you help?

Yesterday, as Florida’s census data was delivered to the Governor and Legislature, members of our coalition wrote to Governor Scott urging him once again to re-submit the amendments. Click here to see the press release on our new website, www.FairDistrictsNow.org

We will keep you posted as events occur. We expect the legislature to hold public hearings in the Summer and Fall. We will notify you so you can attend and demand that politicians follow the new constitutional redistricting rules.

And rest assured, we will keep fighting until Florida’s district maps are drawn fairly – as your vote requires.

Will you join us in continuing the fight for FairDistricts Now?

Thanks
Jackie

Jackie Lee
Executive Director
FairDistricts Now, Inc.

Observer Corps Report: Orange County Redistricting Advisory Committee
Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Susan Caswell, Manager of the Orange County Planning Division gave a presentation on the areas of likely growth.

There were two committee proposals that were submitted. The first was by committee member, Jim Martin, and the second was by committee chair, Derek Bruce. The lines of the six districts were altered to show redistribution based on population and communities of mutual interest. Some committee members had questions about the lines. Martin discussed the issues of the Hispanic community and said that he took that into consideration. Chairman Bruce said that he followed major roadways but also looked at ethnicities and communities of interest.

During the time allotted to the public, several people talked about the importance of representing the Hispanics in one district, and several people discussed the importance of creating a seventh district. Several speakers had drawn their own maps and wanted them reviewed by the commission. One of the members of the Commission asked the attorney if they had the authority to approve more than six districts. She said that their final proposal to the BCC could not include more than six districts, but that they should accept all proposals from the community. Some of the members thought this was a waste of time. The Committee voted on this, and they agreed to accept all proposals and maps from the public, although two of the members voted no.

Stay up-to-date with Latest
News on Redistricting/2011
http://insidethelinesfla.com

Amendment

STANDARDS FOR LEGISLATURE TO FOLLOW IN LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING
Non-Partisan Election

Choice	Statewide Votes Received
Yes for Approval	3,154,034 (62.59%)
No for Rejection	1,885,319 (37.41%)
Amendments require 60% to pass		5,039,353 total votes cast.

STANDARDS FOR LEGISLATURE TO FOLLOW IN CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING
Non-Partisan Election

Choice	Statewide Votes Received
Yes for Approval	3,152,062 (62.92%)
No for Rejection	1,857,264 (37.08%)
Amendments require 60% to pass		5,009,326 total votes cast.

Quick Links

Feature Articles

Now is the time
Get out the vote for 5 and 6
The League has opposed gerrymandering for over 30 years
Amendments 5 and 6 give rules on how voting district lines are drawn. So instead of the politicians picking their voters, we want to pick our elected officials.

Yes on 5 and 6 means Yes for better voting choices
Yes on 5 and 6 means Yes for a stronger democracy

Court Holds Future of Redistricting
Update on August 17th Supreme Court hearing: Amendment 7
Kathleen Haughney, The News Service of Florida

Amendment 5 (Legislative Districts) & Amendment 6 (Congressional Districts)
(Legislative)(Congressional) Districts or districting plans may not be drawn to favor or disfavor an incumbent or political party. Districts shall not be drawn to deny racial or language minorities the equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect representatives of their choice. Districts must be contiguous. Unless otherwise required, districts must be compact, as equal in population as feasible, and where feasible must make use of existing city, county and geographical boundaries.
http://www.fairdistrictsflorida.org/home.php

Party Lines (arguments for and against redistricting)
Florida Trend March 2010

Weekly Roundup – A Fair Fight?
(Recap and analysis of the week in state government)
Keith Laing, The News Service of Florida, Feb 12, 2010

Let the voters speak
St. Petersburg Times editorial, Friday, January 29, 2010

No more tax giveaways
John Hall, Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy
St. Petersburg Times, January 28, 2010

After further review
Follow up to his previous article supporting legislative changes, including Fair Districts, with readers' suggestions for improvements.
By Howard Troxler
St. Pete Times, May 13, 2009

Redistricting with Fairness Just Might Have a Chance
The Supremes have done something quite brave, giving the go-forward nod to an organization that wants to help take the politics out of redistricting our legislative and Congressional seats.
Mary Ann Lindley, Editorial Page Editor
Tallahassee Democrat editorial February 1, 2009

GOP could have weaker grip on redrawing districts
TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for a 2010 ballot amendment designed to end political gamesmanship in drawing district boundaries...
Josh Hafenbrack |Tallahasee Bureau
Orlando Sentinel January 30, 2009

Redistricting changes clear a Florida court hurdle
TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a group trying to place strict guidelines on legislative redistricting had met the legal requirements to go on the 2010 ballot.
Josh Hafenbrack |Tallahassee Bureau
Orlando Sentinel January 29, 2009

Our Views: No Gerrymandering
Sen. Haridopolos Should Lead Charge To Change Flawed Redistricting Process
Haridopolos has been named chairman of the Legislature's reapportionment committee...
Florida Today Editorial -- December 21, 2008

Dear League Members:
Today is a wonderful day of celebration for this campaign! Something historic has happened in our state. We could not have done this without you. FairDistrictsFlorida has been a genuine grassroots movement to restore fairness to redistricting. Because Amendments 5 & 6 passed, you will now be able to choose who you would like to represent you and the constitution will forbid politicians from rigging their districts to ensure their re-election year after year. This was our goal, and we accomplished it!

There is more work to be done, but today we can sit back and feel proud of our victory.

We wouldn’t be here without the hard work of all of you. I cannot thank you enough for your unconditional support over the last 4 years. This has truly been the experience of a lifetime.

Thank you for being part of the team that made this happen,

Ellen Freidin
Fair Districts Florida

Fair Districts Committee

Stay up-to-date with Latest News on Redistricting/2011 http://insidethelinesfla.com

STANDARDS FOR LEGISLATURE TO FOLLOW IN LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING Non-Partisan Election

STANDARDS FOR LEGISLATURE TO FOLLOW IN CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING Non-Partisan Election

Quick Links

Feature Articles

Stay up-to-date with Latest
News on Redistricting/2011
http://insidethelinesfla.com

STANDARDS FOR LEGISLATURE TO FOLLOW IN LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING
Non-Partisan Election

STANDARDS FOR LEGISLATURE TO FOLLOW IN CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING
Non-Partisan Election