Quote
Florida redistricting trial reveals secrets and schemes
Scott Maxwell TAKING NAMES
6:39 a.m. EDT, June 4, 2014
Still, one of the strangest moments in this trial over closed doors happened behind closed doors.
Yes, the presiding judge and Supreme Court actually closed the proceedings to the public, kowtowing to a GOP operative who whined that he wanted to keep documents secret — even though they were part of a trial over public policy. Why not? Citizens have been shut out all along.
If there's any good news in all this, it's that the League of Women Voters — a lead plaintiff in this trial — had the gumption to file a lawsuit that revealed this farce. If there's any justice, it'll force the state's districts to be redrawn.
So who are the bad guys in this? Mainly GOP legislators, who thwarted the voters' will and staged these elaborate partisan schemes.
Yet, Republicans had help from some Democrats who were more interested in protecting their own political fiefdoms. Democratic Rep. Corrine Brown — inhabitant of one of the most gerrymandered districts in America — even traveled to Tallahassee this week to defend her district.
Of course she did. Brown allowed herself to be used as a pawn. Republicans overstuffed a handful of districts, such as hers, with black Democrats, so that they would have oodles of extra whites and Republicans for themselves.
The result: A state with far more registered Democrats ended up with far more Republican-leaning districts and Republicans winning 17 of the 27 districts.
Talk about cooking the books.
This is why you have fewer competitive races each year. The deck is already stacked; many districts pre-ordained.
Here's the key thing to remember, my fellow Floridians: You overwhelmingly voted for Fair Districts.
All you wanted was for the politicians to play fair.
And that was simply too much for them to take.
smaxwell@tribune.com or 407-420-6141
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/digitalunlimited/local/os-florida-redistricting-scott-maxwell-20140603,0,6784482.column?page=2
This should not be difficult. Just start at Key West and start counting people until you reach the number needed for a district (Florida House or Senate, Congress) - District 1. Lather/Rinse/Repeat until you get to Pensacola.
In my ideal world (yes, there are unicorns), you would actually count voting precincts, which would be compact areas to facilitate voting. No split precincts.
We can all agree on this. Republican or democrat.