SVREP's and PRLDEF's Redistricting Plan

Redistricting and reapportionment posed significant new challenges for Latinos and other minorities in 2001-02 in Florida. Legal precedent no longer clearly favors creation of majority minority districts. This is very different from the past two processes, with potentially grave implications for Latino participation in the American democratic process. New strategies must be developed to enhance effective Latino participation in the redistricting process; otherwise racial gerrymandering may reduce Latino participation and representation. Latino leaders enter the redistricting process with positive momentum and enhanced capacity.

Over the last eighteen years, Latino registration and voting in Florida grew faster than that of other major U.S. ethnic groups (Latino registration at 241.8% from '80-'96 and, from '82-'98, the Gubernatorial election cycle, Latino participation at 251.2%.)

The expansion of Latino participation is contrary to the steady decline in U.S. electoral participation. Since 1980, rapid growth in Latino registration, voting and elected officials has served as a counter example to the seemingly endless decline in the overall Florida participation.

A key element in the expansion of Latino participation has been the creation, through the reapportionment and redistricting processes, of fairer electoral districts that, in turn, stimulated effective Latino participation and greater representation.

During the reapportionment and redistricting process of 1980-82 and 1990-92, Latino advocates and legislators utilized the threat of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) to gain significant leverage over legislatures that had a history of drawing racially gerrymandered electoral districts that diminished Latino participation and fair representation. Often, the Justice Department and courts, at the behest of civil rights advocates, invoked provisions of the VRA to reject legislative plans and compel the creation of fair districts for minorities.

Educating and Training Latino Leadership on Redistricting

In Florida, there will be two new congressional seats drawn. Because of the extraordinary growth of the Hispanic population in the state, it is conceivable that these two new congressional districts can be drawn so that Hispanics may constitute a majority of the voters. But it will not happen if Hispanics are not part of the process.

While a considerable amount of attention is placed on congressional and state legislative redistricting, there will also be significant changes in city, school board and county election districts as well as others. It is at the local level where Latinos have made the least progress in the 1990's.

The challenge that local redistricting poses for the Latino community is that it will take place on a massive scale in a relatively short time frame. Thousands of political jurisdictions will be drawing new district lines in a two-year period.

The redistricting challenge requires that a base of trained and organized leadership be developed in every community where Latinos have an opportunity to increase their representation. It is this leadership that will take on this monumental task.

SVREP's redistricting strategy has several goals. First, to assist Latino communities in identifying additional data and information that may assist communities to define their community of interest. Second, to assist communities in developing district plans, communicate data about those plans with others across the state in order to develop a statewide plan. Third, to assist the Latino community in developing statewide plans. Fourth, to assist Latino communities in gathering the data and information needed to develop a record to demonstrate "communities of interest."

Latinos are better positioned and better prepared to impact favorably the redistricting process than they were 10 years ago.

SVREP and its Latino allies already bring much to the table. A network of 30,000 political and civic leaders, a significant research and data collection capacity, and a proven track record of voting rights litigation bode well for this struggle to ensure a fair and equitable redistricting.

SVREP is in contact with leaders from the Alianza en Progreso, the Concejo Colombo-Americano, the Grupo de Dominicanos Profesionales, the Grupo de Accion Comunitaria Dominicana, the Borinquen Clinic, the Latino Leadership Institute, the Latino Voters League, and the Haitian American Foundation. These groups will be constituted as a sponsoring redistricting committee for the SVREP efforts in South Florida. They will provide the nucleus for a multicultural redistricting coalition.

Timeline

Florida is in the beginning phase of its redistricting efforts holding public hearings throughout the state starting in Jacksonville on July 12, 2001 through October 18 ending in Gainseville.

SVREP Florida Director Alvaro Fernandez and SVREP Redistricting Coordinator Robert Aguinaga have given testimony at various hearing throughout the state. Below is a sample of that testimony.

"Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I would first like to thank you for the opportunity to speak today regarding the redistricting. My name is Robert Aguinaga and I am the Redistricting Coordinator for the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project. As aforementioned, Southwest Voter is a nationally recognized organization whose concentration is the increased political participation of the Latino and other underserved communities within the political process. The Florida efforts will be conducted out of the Miami regional office.

In Florida, Latinos represent the largest minority group in the state numbering close to 2.7 million persons or 16.8% of the total Florida population. Over the past decade, Latinos have been one of the fastest growing populations growing at a rate of 70.4% or nearly three times the rate of the total population, 23.5%. Latinos alone have represented 36.4% of the total growth of the state. Include other minority groups such as African-Americans, Asians, and Native-Americans and minorities represented 67.7% of the total growth of the state.

As 70% of the growth in the state can be directly attributed to Latinos and other minorities, and as that growth directly resulted in the addition of 2 new congressional districts in Florida, it is imperative to include Latinos and other minorities intrinsically within the redistricting process. These public hearings are a wonderful beginning to that end.

Southwest Voter, working with various other organizations servicing underserved communities across the state, will primarily be focusing its work in the South Florida and Orlando areas. The five counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, Hillsborough, Orange, and Palm Beach constitute nearly 77% of the Latino population in Florida. Southwest Voter will be working with diverse communities in these areas to help local grass roots based organizations participate within the redistricting process in various capacities. And these communities are becoming more diverse. According to the Census Bureau, the largest Latino group in Florida is now Other Latinos at 37.4%, a hodge podge of Central Americans, South Americans, Dominicans, and Latinos with other various identities. Along with the Haitian and Asian communities, it is the intent of Southwest Voter to get these communities involved. From giving public testimony to the creation of statewide plans, Southwest will help increase the involvement of underserved communities within this process.

SVREP, working through the Florida office, will work with community members to propose representative electoral districts at every level: congressional, state legislative, and local. SVREP has already set forth a proposal for the Miami-Dade County Commission map and plans to unveil a congressional plan by the end of the year.

Conclusion

Currently litigation is underway in federal court, as MALDEF seeks to increase Latino majority congressional districts from the status quo of 7 to 9. Litigation that was completed a few weeks ago in state court yielded maps that did not create any new opportunities for Latino communities, even though Latinos represented over 60% of the population growth in the 90's. State legislative court cases will take place after the federal proceedings have been completed.