What’s New
During the 2006 legislative session Florida PIRG, along with other members of the Save the Voters' Voice Coalition, successfully defeated repeated attempts by lawmakers and powerful special interest lobbyists to pass a series of voter-gag bills aimed at severely restricting the right of citizens to wage ballot initiative campaigns that would force legislators to address issues that have been approved by a popular vote.

Four voter-gag bills introduced by lawmakers would have taken power away from Floridians by dramatically restricting their right to vote on important statewide issues. Three of these measures would have created excessively high hurdles for grass roots groups wishing to use the ballot initiative process while the fourth measure would have allowed lawmakers to move constitutional amendments already passed by voters from the Florida Constitution to state statutes where they could be more easily tampered with by powerful special interests and their allies in the legislature.

We are happy to report that Florida PIRG along with other members of the Save the Voters' Voice coalition successfully defeated all four of these attacks on democracy. Now, we must turn our attention to the upcoming November election where voters will be faced with Amendment 3, an anti-democracy initiative placed on the ballot by the 2005 state legislature. Amendment 3 would require all future amendments to meet a 60% vote threshold for passage, making it very easy for wealthy special interests to defeat important future public interest initiatives.

How You Can Help
Click Here, and sign up to receive future E-mail alerts on this and other important public interest issues.

DEFENDING DEMOCRACY—Florida PIRG Democracy and Consumer Advocate Brad Ashwell (right) discusses the Save the Voters' Voice campaign with Florida AFL-CIO Communications Director Rich Templin (left).

Background
Powerful lobbyists and their allies in the legislature often make it virtually impossible for average citizens to have a voice in their government. At the behest of industry lobbyists and their wealthy corporate clients, the legislature has raised basic phone rates, delayed deadlines for cleaning up the Everglades and refused to pass an indoor smoking ban.

When the legislature is not responsive to voters or when industry lobbyist exert an undue level of influence on the political process, the ballot initiative process is the only tool Floridians have to directly address important issues.

President Woodrow Wilson once described the initiative process as a "gun behind the door," that makes elected officials more responsive to public opinion and provides a check on the dominance of special interests.

While most Floridians have benefited from these reforms, a powerful group of industry lobbyists along with their allies in the legislature have increasingly sought to shut down the ability of citizens to use the ballot initiative process.

The most profound public interest reforms achieved during the past decade have occurred through citizens organizing ballot initiative campaigns. The initiative process also provides an important check on a political system which is often hard if not impossible for ordinary people to influence. Moreover, national studies have shown that the initiative process encourages civic participation, leads to greater voter education as well as greater public confidence in government.

Floridians need more democracy, not less.

Voters should have the right to amend their constitution and legislators should abandon their attempts to restrict the ability of citizens to use the ballot initiative process.