As legislators start the once-a-decade political redistricting process next week, a national group released polling data Thursday indicating most Floridians are opposed to “gerrymandering,” even if it helps their party gain seats.
And the majority of the 428 registered voters who were polled have concerns about lawmakers getting to draw new political lines for their own districts, according to Joe Kabourek, senior campaign director for Massachusetts-based RepresentUS, a nonprofit trying to limit the influence of money in American politics.
“Floridians across partisan lines, they hate gerrymandering. Whether you're a Democrat, Republican or independent, you abhor the practice in Florida,” Kabourek told reporters during a conference call Thursday. “And I think there's some evidence they don't trust Florida legislators to conduct this process fairly, based first and foremost on the history over the past decade. But obviously, as we see in the data, (there's) a clear concern about the lack of transparency and obvious conflicts of interest inherent in the process.”
When asked if they supported or opposed gerrymandering, 80 percent of respondents — including 75 percent of those who said they voted for former President Donald Trump — expressed opposition. Meanwhile, 64 percent of respondents had concerns about politicians getting to draw their own districts. Kabourek pointed out that 69 percent of voters “expressed quite a bit of concern that politicians today have used gerrymandering to rig elections in their favor and undermine the integrity of our elections.”
It should be noted that the survey used the word “gerrymandering,” a term that often has a negative connotation and refers to the practice of redrawing electoral lines in favor of a particular politician or party.
The Florida survey was conducted between June 30 and July 8 through online panel administered by YouGov. The poll had a margin of error of 5.42 percent, according to RepresentUS.
The upcoming redistricting process, expected to be a major focus of the 2022 legislative session, will be the second time state lawmakers will craft legislative and congressional districts following the passage of “Fair Districts” constitutional amendments approved by Florida voters in 2010. The amendments were designed to prohibit partisan gerrymandering or maps that favor incumbent elected officials.
The amendments led the Florida Supreme Court to overturn congressional and state Senate maps initially proposed a decade ago.
But since then, the state's top court has become more conservative, with two justices who dissented in overturning the Legislature’s proposed districts during the last go-around now in the court’s majority.
The Senate Reapportionment Committee is scheduled to meet Monday, with the House Redistricting Committee on tap for a Wednesday meeting. The House will hold subcommittee meetings on redistricting the follow day.
This article appears in Sep 16-22, 2021.