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Do new redistricting proposals abide by Amendments 5 and 6?

Posted Nov 28, 2011 by Mike Salinero

Updated Nov 28, 2011 at 11:05 PM

Last year, 63 percent of Florida voters approved Amendments 5 and 6, which called for compact voting districts that are as politically neutral as possible.

But maps released Monday by the state Senate staff draw district lines that are only slightly more compact than the present versions and whose political neutrality is hard to fathom.

“That’s one of the frustrating things—we can’t see the party make-up in these maps, though that was one of the key prongs of Amendments 5 and 6,” said Susan MacManus, a professor of political science at the University of South Florida who has written a book about redistricting.

MacManus said at first glance, the new district lines in the proposed maps do little to tilt the political status quo in the Tampa Bay area.

Read more here.