Fair is Fair (Except When it is Not)

By Catherine Giordano

I’m going to announce that I have a new writing credential, even tho I’m not sure a “letter to the editor" qualifies.

I used to have letters published in the Orlando Sentinel quite frequently, but yesterday was the first time I had sent one in years.

The letter was about Fair Districts, the constitutional amendment Florida voters passed in 2010.  It forbids gerrymandering.  Now Florida courts have to decide if the districts were fairly drawn. (Of course they weren’t--they were done by politicians using voting data to insure that their seat was "safe.")

Here is my “letter to the editor” published in the Orlando Sentinel on May 20, 2014.

Fair Districts, Please

To create fair districts, all we need to do is to put a couple of cartographers into a room with a map of Florida and population statistics. If any politicians, political consultants, or voting data is present, that is prima facie evidence of gerrymandering. Please, can we finally have the fair districts we voted for.

 

 

Learn more about the issue at Fair Districts Now


7/11/14: Florida won! A judge has ruled that the Republicans violated the law and gerrymandered districts to favor Republicans. The districts have to be redrawn. Republicans will probably appeal. They should be ashamed.