Judge Strikes Down Redistricting Amendment
Thursday, July 8, 2010
By: Tom Parkinson

July 8, 2010 - A judge in Tallahassee has thrown out a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have given state lawmakers more say over how to draw legislative districts. The judge says the wording of the amendment is confusing and misleading.

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Leon County Circuit Judge James Shelfer says it took him three days to make sense of Amendment 7 and he says the average voter would not understand it either.
The amendment is one of 3 proposed redistricting measures. It was put on the ballot by a legislative committee -- supporters of the other two amendments said it would negate efforts in their proposals to combat gerrymandering.
State Senator Mike Haridopolos sponsored Amendment 7. He says if the same standards are applied to the two competing amendments, they would also be struck down because of confusing language.
A lawsuit challenging those 2 proposals is still pending.
To learn more about the all three redistricting amendments, click here.  http://www.wmfe.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=10691