Seizing on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Florida election reformers are laying the groundwork for a campaign to amend the state constitution and create an independent redistricting commission.
In a June opinion, the high court gave its approval to redistricting commissions already operating in a handful of states, effectively stripping legislatures there of their power to draw legislative and Congressional district boundaries once every 10 years. Critics have long complained the ability of politicians to 'pick' their voters unfairly taints the redistricting process.
"Now that we have this decision, it is clear that one of the solutions, probably the best solution to the problem, is to have an independent commission take it out of the hands of the legislature and give it to an independent commission that can draw district lines fairly," said Peter Butzin of Common Cause Florida, the group leading the effort to create a commission in Florida.
The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature is facing outsized criticism for its handling of the redistricting process in 2012. A coalition of advocacy groups has filed two lawsuits alleging legislative leaders disregarded the 'Fair Districts' amendments passed by voters in 2010 and intended to outlaw the drawing of district lines with the intent to favor one political party over another.
The Legislature's top Republicans deny political favoritism was at play and argue the voices of 160 directly elected lawmakers are better than the voices of only a few independent commissioners.
"The process we went through was, there was no gamesmanship or shen...you know, whatever, playing 'let's hide the ball'," Rep. Richard Corcoran (R-Lutz) said during the House's redistricting debate.
Supporters of an independent redistricting commission say it could cost as much as $4 million to gather the signatures it would take to put an amendment on the ballot.