January 26, 2006

Redistricting Coming To FL?

A small sign of the times, perhaps. But a non-profit that's pushing a revamp of Florida's remap process says they have well more than 900K signatures and expect the SoS to certify their initiative to the 11/06 ballot.

The initiative (actually, three of them) would create an independent redistricting commission.

FL's district lines are among the nation's most convoluted and incumbents enjoy a decided advantage over would-be opponents.

The Committee for Fair Elections is sponsoring the ballot petition drive. The group says they're bipartisan, although most of its coalition members are center-left, including Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, not to mention very prominent Dems, including ex-Rep. Carrie Meek and ex-Sen. Bob Graham. GOPers include ex-comptroller Bob Milligan and Bush '41 fundraiser/lawyer Thom Rumberger.

Redistricting is becoming more popular in theory; voters don't seem to like partisan meddling.

But process-reform ballot initiatives often fail, in part because the language used to describe them is so complicated. And it's unclear whether most Republican-leaning voters in the state are all that unhappy about their party entrenching its control of legislative districts. (Dem leaders in DC are wary of the idea, too. They don't want to mess with their own incumbency privileges.)

CA's major reform effort failed; Texas's mid-decade redistricting will this spring be debated for the U.S. Supreme Court. If the court rules that political considerations intruded too much, a wave of "independent commission" proposals might suddenly roll through the 50 states. The Center for Voting and Democracy is a good site to check for updates.

Posted at 02:48 PM

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