A Sneaky Way to Rig An Election
Equality Begins With Fair Districts
Help Put an Amendment on the 2010 Ballot
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Q: With public support for equal rights at an all time high, why doesn't the Florida Legislature move quickly to ban discrimination? A: Gerrymandering. A funny word to describe an ugly political trick and our biggest obstacle to achieving full equality under the law. |
Dear Friends,
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1 - Click Here to 2 - Forward this email to 5 friends. For more information or to volunteer, contact Edward Kring at [email protected]. |
Every 10 years, new district lines are drawn and the political party in power uses sophisticated computer software, voter registration data and election results to pinpoint the voters who are most likely to vote for them. They then draw ridiculous boundaries to cram one party or another; one demographic or another into a district to stack the deck.
Through "gerrymandering," elected officials handpick their voters and practically ensure themselves re-election.
In Tallahassee, moderate legislators tell us privately that we have won the debate on adoption and civil rights but gerrymandered districts cause them to pander to the extremes in districts that are weighted to elect anti-gay, arch conservatives.
This not only destroys bipartisanship, it also leads to political extremism - and it's just not fair to voters.
Fairly drawn district lines would change the climate in Tallahassee overnight. And Equality Florida is part of an effort to ensure fair district lines are drawn in a way that respects voters and ends the political game of rigging the system.
We've joined forces with FairDistrictsFlorida.org, a non-partisan, non-profit citizens advocacy group, to put two amendments on the 2010 ballot that would end the practice of gerrymandering.
Two Florida Constitutional amendments are required to fix this problem (one for state districts and one for Federal districts) and we need your help to ensure they make the ballot.
Equality Florida has committed to helping collect the 1.7 million petitions necessary to get Fair Districts on the 2010 ballot.
Join Our Equality Begins with Fair Districts Campaign. Take Action Today:
1 - Click Here to Sign the Petitions. Download, print, sign and mail both Fair Districts Petitions today (one covers state and one covers Federal districts).
2 - Forward this email to 5 friends.
Sincerely,
Nadine Smith
Executive Director
PS Make a donation today to help us reach as many pro-equality Floridians as possible.
