URGENT: Florida’s citizen-led amendments are at risk

lawmakers are moving fast to pass legislation that would gut our ability to amend our own constitution

Pamela, did you see this? Florida lawmakers are moving fast to pass legislation that would gut our ability to amend our own constitution—making it nearly impossible for grassroots movements to put issues on the ballot. We need all hands on deck. Both bills in the House and Senate have successfully passed their initial committee hearings and are set to move to their final committee stops as early as next week. If we don't act now, we could lose one of our most powerful tools to hold politicians accountable. Tell lawmakers: Protect citizen-led amendments! TAKE ACTION Pamela, Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies in the Florida Legislature want to make it nearly impossible for everyday Floridians to amend our state constitution through citizen-led amendments. For decades, Floridians have used citizen-led constitutional amendments to make real change when politicians refused to act—raising the minimum wage, protecting our environment, restoring voting rights to returning citizens, and more. But now, legislation is moving quickly through the Florida House and Senate that would create massive new barriers to getting issues on the ballot— restricting petition collection and imposing costly requirements that shut out grassroots movements. These attacks on the citizen-led amendment process are a cynical ploy to rewrite the rules to keep power in the hands of out-of-touch politicians and their corporate elite donors rather than letting the people have a say through their vote. This legislation already passed its first committee last week. It will next be heard in the House State Affairs Committee soon. Take Action: Tell lawmakers to reject these attacks on citizen-led amendments. Even voters within his own party oppose DeSantis' and his allies' attack on citizen-led amendments: a newly released survey of Florida Republicans found that strong majorities opposed these efforts to restrict petition collection. In fact, 72% of Florida Republicans support citizen-led amendments, while only 14% oppose them. Instead of making it easier to access democracy and government, lawmakers are working to make it harder—rigging the rules to benefit the wealthy and powerful at the expense of everyday Floridians. We need to act fast. The House bill may be heard again as early as this week. If we don't stop them, we could lose one of the most powerful tools we have to hold our government accountable. Take 60 seconds to tell the committee members: Protect citizen-led amendments! Write to the Committee Members Direct democracy is how we hold leaders accountable and bring change to our communities. This process has been part of Florida's history for decades, empowering Floridians to act when politicians won't. We can't let them take that away. Don't let them shut us out. Write to the lawmakers today. Thank you for standing up for our democracy, Amy Keith, Executive Director and the team at Common Cause Florida Common Cause Florida is a leader in fights that matter at both the local and state level. Your support helps us fight special interests, hold elected officials accountable, and build a better democracy for all Floridians. DONATE Interested in volunteering with our Action Team? Sign up here. 333 3rd Ave N, Unit 427 St. Petersburg Fl, 33701 202.833.1200 https://commoncause.org Common Cause's work to defend and strengthen our democracy is powered by members like you. You can use this link to unsubscribe or let us know you'd like to receive fewer emails from us.

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