Redistricting Reform is a citizens’ initiative that crosses party lines. The initiative would take the responsibility of redistricting away from Florida’s legislature and give the power back to the voters by amending Florida’s Constitution to establish standards for districts drawn by a non-partisan commission in time for the 2008 elections.
The non-partisan movement has been organized by the Committee for Fair Elections and is spearheaded by a Steering Committee chaired by Ben Wilcox, Executive Director of Common Cause. The Committee, a coalition of other distinguished citizens’ group, includes the League of Women Voters of Florida, Florida Conservation Alliance, Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and others. This group has successfully gathered over 900,000 signatures by the February 1st deadline to allow the initiative to move to the next phase — certification by the Secretary of State who has authorized the Redistricting Reform as Constitutional Amendment #5. The next step is review by the Florida Supreme Court, which began on February 9th.
Historically, the primary goal of redistricting was to adjust political boundaries to account for changes and growth in the population. However, politicians began to manipulate boundaries to their party’s favor almost as soon as those boundaries were due to be redrawn. The practice became known as Gerrymandering.
Gerrymandering occurs once every ten years after the census is taken. Based on population changes, state and federal voting districts are redrawn. The party in power, in this instance, the Republicans, is in charge of drawing the new districts.
The Yankee Dictionary by Charles Hayward defines the term Gerrymander. Gerrymander: to divide into election districts in a way designed to give a political party an advantage.
The story about how Gerrymandering became a political term arose in 1812 when the Governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry, created a senatorial district that began with Salisbury in the north and included the towns of Amesbury, Haverhill, Methuen, Andover, Middleton, Danvers, Lynnfield, Salem Marblehead, Lynn and Chelsea. These towns just south of the New Hampshire border curved around from the north towards the west and then south to Boston. A diagram of this convoluted district that was shaped like a reptile hung in the office of the Federalist Newspaper, the Centinel. When the famous painter, Gilbert Stuart visited the editor, he picked up a crayon and added a head, wings, and claws and declared it a salamander. “No,” said the editor who was no fan of the Republican Governor, “a Gerrymander”.
As computer technology used by political parties has become more sophisticated, the original intent of redistricting has been lost. Now the political goal of redistricting is to draw a boundary where there are more registered voters in the controlling party than those of their opponents thus preserving the party in power and thwarting challenges to incumbents. Based on election data and computer models, the political party making up the new districts can literally draw a line down the center of a street. Voters from the party out of power are placed into districts that are heavily populated by voters of the party in power. …And, because there are no rules about keeping the districts compact or within city or county boundaries, the art of Gerrymandering in Florida was taken to a new level in this last redistricting cycle.
According to the Committee for Fair Elections, “not a single incumbent in Florida’s State Legislature or in Florida’s U.S. Congressional delegation was defeated in 2004. In that cycle, 72.5% of state legislative races had only one major party candidate. Of the 142 seats up for re-election, 103 were uncontested by a major party. That made Florida the second least competitive state behind Arkansas”.
Currently, Florida’s Constitution gives the Florida Legislature the authority to draw boundaries for state legislative and congressional districts. Legislators can literally draw their own districts. In simple terms, elected officials have been given the power to choose their voters instead of voters choosing their elected representatives. The result of districts that are oddly shaped and separate Florida neighborhoods, villages, towns, cities, and counties threatens the very foundation of our democracy. Politicians have little incentive to be responsive to their constituents if they know they are safe from any threat to their re-election.
The Committee for Fair Elections says it best: “It is clearly a conflict of interest to vest the legislature with redistricting responsibilities. By doing so, we allow partisan politics to be put ahead of Florida’s needs”.
I support this initiative and urge voters to vote, “YES”, for Redistricting Reform (Amendment #5) on November 7th.
© Zimmermann2006 – February 25, 2006
