The AARP today announced their endorsement of Amendments 5 and 6, joining several other organizations including the League of Women Voters of Florida, NAACP Florida, and Democracia Ahora, working to toward their passage.
“We are excited that the AARP is joining us in the fight for better government in Florida,” said League President Deirdre Macnab in a statement. “Together, we can reach a greater number of people to inform them that this November, by voting Yes on 5 and 6, we can finally stop politicians from selfishly rigging districts to benefit themselves. With AARP’s support, we will work toward requiring that districts be compact and community based, while continuing to protect the rights of minority voters.”
As it stands, state legislators are in charge of redrawing districts every 10 years and do so in a manner where voters will keep them in office. There are many strangely-shaped districts in Florida that divide neighborhoods and connect areas with little in common.
If passed by Florida voters, Amendments 5 and 6 will create new rules that will:
- prohibit politicians from designing districts to favor themselves or their parties
- require them to make the districts compact and community based
- make it impossible for legislators to draw districts to diminish the ability of minority voters to elect representatives.
The League of Women Voters of Florida said that passage of FairDistricts Amendments 5 and 6 are the top priority this election year.
