The Governor has called for a special legislative session for April 20-24. This is normally the week when U.S. Congressional candidates file their paperwork to qualify with the Florida Division of Elections for the primary and general elections. Obviously, that is not going to happen as we won’t even know the boundaries for the 28 Congressional districts!
The U.S. League has been working for fair districting since 1939, and in 2010 the Florida League was a prime member of the Fair Districts coalition working to pass the Fair Districts Amendments.
We urge voters to tell our legislators to say NO to mid-decade redistricting. Floridians voted for fair districts in 2010 to stop partisan gerrymandering. Redrawing lines now for partisan advantage goes against the will of the people and our State Constitution, which specifically states that “Congressional districts or districting plans may not be drawn to favor or disfavor an incumbent or political party.”
Redistricting mid-decade, without new Census data, ignores the will of the voters, undermines the State Constitution, and flies in the face of our democratic principles of fair voting. Frequently changing district lines confuses voters and weakens the relationship between communities and their elected officials. Floridians deserve to see and comment on proposed maps before a single line is changed.
Allowing mid-decade redistricting sets us on a path of endless political map-drawing. This would erode confidence in elections, create instability, and make it harder for voters to have consistent representation.
Florida’s families are worried about urgent issues such as skyrocketing insurance costs, housing, and infrastructure. Taxpayer dollars should be spent on fixing these problems instead of unnecessary redistricting. The last redistricting process cost taxpayers millions of dollars. We don’t need to waste precious state resources on an unnecessary and partisan mid-decade effort.