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My Word: Fair Districts give vote back

Nancy Rudner Lugo  Orlando Sentinel  January 27, 2010 

It took years of work by FairDistrictsFlorida.org, the League of Women Voters, other organizations and individual citizens to gather the more than 1million signatures necessary to get two constitutional amendments on the Nov . 2 ballot aimed at stopping the gerrymandering of political districts.

As things stand, congressional and legislative voting districts, which are redrawn every 10 years based on the latest Census figures, don't have to be compact. This leaves them open to manipulation by the Florida Legislature to benefit incumbents. Sophisticated mapping software allows state officials to cherry-pick the voters they want, creating messy districts that make no geographic sense, and making it almost impossible for voters to know who represents their community . Gerrymandered districts -drawn with collusion between both major political parties -- are assigned to be either Republican or Democratic.

It is no wonder that there are fewer really competitive elections in Florida than almost any state in the union. Incumbents are rarely defeated, and seats almost never change hands from one party to another.

But if Fair Districts amendments 5 and 6 (one for congressional districts, the other for legislative) win voter approval in November, clear standards requiring that the districts be drawn using county and city lines, and not to benefit political parties or exclude any minority group, will restore power to the voters.

Already some elected leaders in Tallahassee and powerful lobbying organizations, who have launched a campaign to keep the current gerrymandered system, are trying to confuse voters by saying Fair Districts are bad for minorities. This blatantly ignores the fact that the proposed amendments clearly state: "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."

Ask yourselves: Would groups concerned about minority representation and good government such as the Florida League of Cities, Florida League of Mayors, Legislative Black Caucus, Florida NAACP , Florida Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, Democracia Ahora, newspaper editorial boards throughout the state and numerous individuals have supported Fair Districts if the amendments discriminated against minorities? No! These groups know what is best for all voters.

With Fair Districts, voters can choose their elected officials instead of allowing politicians to pick their voters. Voters would have a greater opportunity to know whom to write or call to share views and ideas with officeholders -bringing accountability on issues including home insurance, school funding, property taxes, agency funding and much more.

But first we must brace ourselves for a bitter battle as the entrenched interests seek once more to deprive Florida voters of the right to choose their elected officials.

What is at stake is the right of you the voter to decide, not the politician.
Nancy Rudner Lugo is chair of the League of Women Voters of Orange County's Fair Districts committee.