by David Chapman
Staff Writer
State legislators charged with the once-a-decade task of redrawing Florida’s political boundaries came to Jacksonville Monday to hear from the public about how to map the districts.
The public session framed as “Tell Us Your Story” at Florida State College at Jacksonville was a microcosm of arguments for and against how the issue is being handled.
The redistricting committees of the Florida House and Senate held two sessions Monday from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.
The first session was standing room only. More than 50 speakers used their time to argue sides of the contentious redistricting issue.
The Jacksonville stop was the fifth of 26 visits on the committees’ public tour across the state.
Chaired by state Sen. Don Gaetz (R-Niceville) and state Rep. Will Weatherford (R-Wesley Chapel), the committees offered no maps and instead will use the public’s input to influence how the congressional and state legislative lines are drawn.
Critics of the process said delaying the maps will cause confusion among voters and potential candidates who are unsure of their district boundaries, while several Northeast Florida elections officials urged the committees to speed up the process.
The time line calls for drawing and voting on new maps early next year, which several elections officials said would leave them with just two weeks to update information before mailing absentee ballots.
Many people welcomed the chance to voice their opinions before the maps are drawn.
Several speakers asked that their counties and communities be made whole instead of awkwardly divided, such as districts in Nassau and Baker counties and Fleming Island.
The public forum also was a time for proponents and critics of Amendments 5 and 6, which passed in November with a 63 percent majority.
The amendments, one for congressional and another for legislative boundaries, require voting districts to be compact and contiguous and to respect city and county lines when possible.
The issue is in court after a lawsuit filed by U.S. Reps. Corrine Brown, a Democrat, and Mario Diaz-Balart, a Republican.
Brown used her time at the first Monday session to tell committee lawmakers to adhere to the federal Voting Act of 1965, which she says groups “communities of interests” to ensure minority representation.
She cited Florida’s historical lack of black congressional leaders and said the current structure ensures “we will never go back” to a time when minorities weren’t represented.
“Do the districts based on the law,” she said.
Critics also voiced their opinion, with many using the term “gerrymandering” to describe their district and criticizing the current lawsuits as a waste of tax dollars.
Gerrymandering is a term used to describe the division of election districts to provide one political party a majority.
“Why are you using taxpayer money to undermine my vote?” asked one speaker. “Just do the maps.”
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