Vote NO on Amendments 5 & 6

These proposed amendments to the Florida constitution are well-intentioned in that they seek to prevent the state legislature from gerrymandering district lines to favor one party over another.

It really is annoying that we are home to such wildly-drawn boundary lines like those of U.S. House district #3. It snakes along the St. Johns River between Jacksonville and Orlando with the express purpose of encompassing as many African American voters within its boundaries--and thus assure Democratic incumbent Corinne Brown perpetual re-election to Congress.

That is irksome.

Nonetheless, these are half-baked solutions that would inevitably result in throwing far too many redistricting issues into our already-too-busy court system. By their own admission, "The fiscal impact cannot be determined precisely. State govenment and state courts may incur additional costs if litigation increases beyond the number or complexity of cases which would have occurred in the amendment's absence."

So, bottom line, I sympathize. But, I still plan to vote NO on 5 and 6.