April 15, 2004
Democrats vow to find spine
House Democrats, usually powerless to stop the Republican agenda, vowed Wednesday to thwart any effort to place questions on the Aug. 31 primary ballot that would make it harder for citizens to amend the state Constitution.Posted by Norwood at April 15, 2004 07:03 AMThe pledge, coupled with the House unveiling its proposals for changing the way the Constitution is amended, ensured that the issue will be among the toughest to negotiate in the final two weeks of the session.
Democrats in the House said they won't allow the questions on the primary ballot. It takes a three-fourths vote of both chambers, or 90 votes in the House, to put a constitutional amendment on a primary ballot, but only a three-fifths vote to make it part of a general election. With 81 Republicans in the House, nine Democrats would have to cross party lines for the questions to make the primary.
It is unfair to put far-reaching changes on a ballot that historically attracts a small percentage of voters, Democrats said. They also said the primary ballot is ignored by the state's growing pool of independent voters because most ballot issues involve Republicans and Democrats.
"This is a sneaky, back-door attempt to amend the Constitution and to restrict citizens' rights. It's patently unfair," said Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach. "We're really concentrating more power in the hands of Tallahassee special interests."
