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CAUGHT ON TAPE Redistricting conspiracy in Florida to oust black congresswoman
It is common knowledge that redistricting is used many times to give parties marginal advantages. They are drawn to increase the chances of a particular party winning. Most of the times however this is accomplished via 'natural' demographics.
There is something scandalous and outright conspiratorial in the manner in which the Florida Republican Party is trying to use redistricting to oust Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Brown. NewsOne Now reported the following.
Members of the Florida Republican Party conducted a secret meeting to lay out a plan to unseat Congresswoman Corrine Brown through redistricting. The plan spearheaded by Florida State Rep. Janet Adkins would pack inmates/felons who are ineligible to vote into the 5th Congressional District.
But as lawmakers and GOP activists in the meeting were secretly plotting against Brown, they were also secretly being recorded.
In the recording Republican Florida State Representative Janet Adkins said the following.
Theyre a part of the population. No, they cant vote. So when you take a look at, and I dont know what the numbers are, but you take a look at how many minorities are in the prisons within that newly drawn proposed congressional how many of them live in the prisons, thats why Corrine Brown is so against having an east-west, because her concern is that they live in prisons and they cant vote. So its a perfect storm.
It's a perfect storm, you're now reducing the percentage of minorities within that district and you draw it in such a fashion that perhaps a majority, or maybe not a majority, but a number of them will live in the prisons, thereby not being able to vote. You can actually, Danny, you can be the person that will help gt rid of [Rep.] Corrine Brown.
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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/30/1426301/-CAUGHT-ON-TAPE-Redistricting-conspiracy-in-Florida-to-oust-black-congresswoman?detail=email
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Seems to me, besides Repubs gaming the system, it's also a good example of why it's extremely unfair to refuse the right to vote to ex-convicts. If they aren't part of the potential voting public once released, why be able to use their numbers to boost an area's representation?
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Rep Brown is not an innocent victim. She colloberated with Republicans in gerrymandering her district in the first place, in order to carve herself a safe seat and 'bleach' the neighboring districts. The NAACP and ACLU even sharply criticized her for it.
In any case, redistricting is no longer in the hands of Republicans, the judge who has repeatedly ruled against their maps is now redrawing the districts.