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Floridians speak out to encourage bipartisan, independent redistricting process
Faith leaders, former Republican lawmaker JC Planas and community leaders joined RepresentUS at events in Tallahassee and Orlando on November 1st and 2nd to encourage the Florida Legislature to follow a bipartisan, fair, and transparent redistricting process. Launched by RepresentUs, Gerry’s Partisan Pizza Truck offers free pizza and information to citizens to show how rigged maps undermine democracy.
“Using pizza, we are showing how politicians slice up districts to their own advantage, so they can get a larger piece of the pie. The people of Florida deserve a redistricting process that is fair, transparent and accountable,” said Joe Kabourek, Senior Campaign Director, RepresentUS.
Katie Bohnett, Board Member with the Tallahassee League of Women voters shared, “As the Florida Legislature begins their redistricting process, we urge them to bring residents closer to the process. It’s been disappointing to read that some Legislators believe the public should have a limited role as this only threatens our democracy. We saw in the last redistricting process how the Courts were forced to intervene. This year, the Legislature has an opportunity to do things right by building off the 2016 maps that were certified to meet the constitutional Fair District standards.”
Pastor Herman Yant of Refuge Church Sanford in Central Florida expressed, “By choosing their own voters through gerrymandering, politicians protect themselves from having to be accountable to voters. When they can’t be defeated, they don’t have an incentive to solve our problems. As community leaders, we’ve come together to share why it’s critical for a thriving democracy to have the residents engaged in the redistricting process. This ensures we have a fair, open and transparent process that voters can trust.”
Following a three-day pop-up pizza shop demonstration in Austin that attracted hundreds of citizens eager to learn about gerrymandering, RepresentUs launched the two-week food truck tour that will travel to key states where politicians control the once-a-decade redistricting process. The truck will also make stops in Greensboro, N.C., Raleigh, N.C., Tallahassee, Fla., Orlando, Fla., Harrisburg, Pa., Pittsburgh, Pa., Madison, Wis. and Appleton, Wis. The truck uses fun gimmicks, like napkins that explain gerrymandering and pizza in the shape of gerrymandered districts.
Former Republican legislator JC Planas added, “Gerrymandering allows politicians to pick the voters they want in their own districts, so that the outcome is known even before the election happens. Gerrymandering is corruption, and it’s a huge reason why more than 80% of House elections are uncompetitive. This year’s redistricting lines are set in stone for the next decade- which is why we have come together to ensure the people have a true voice in this process.”
Check out this video that uses pizza to explain gerrymandering and how it disenfranchises voters. RepresentUs’ Gerrymandering Threat Index found that 35 states are at extreme or high risk of gerrymandering because politicians control the redistricting process. Nearly 90 percent of voters across the political spectrum — Democrats and Republicans alike — oppose the practice.
“People hate gerrymandering as much as they love pizza. Using pizza, we can show how politicians create half-baked maps that leave voters without any meaningful opportunity to hold their politicians accountable,” said Kabourek.
