Reject Amendment 4, which squelches citizen voices

Why do these politicians trust us to cast votes for them, but not to implement policies directly?

Don’t look now, but politicians in Tallahassee are trying to silence you. Their weapon of choice is Amendment Four, a proposal on the ballot in the upcoming election.

The amendment, if passed, would require all future amendments to the Florida Constitution to get approved by voters in two elections, rather than one, to take effect. While it’s being pitched as a way to protect our state Constitution, the real aim here is to protect politicians and muzzle voters.

Florida’s constitutional framework places citizens in charge. Article 1, Section 1 of our state Constitution boldly states that “all political power is inherent in the people.” That power has historically included the ability to collect signatures and place amendments on the ballot by initiative, especially when the legislature refuses to act.

Our eight-year term limit law is a prime example. It has revitalized Florida government, terminated career politicians and made our state a leader in fiscal health. But legislative term limits wouldn’t exist if Florida hadn’t allowed citizens to petition it directly onto the ballot back in 1992. In other states where legislators already have monopolies, term limits never come into existence, because politicians are never willing to curtail their own power.

For years, state legislators have worked to hobble our petition process and keep citizen-initiated ideas off the ballot. They have limited the amount of time groups have to submit signatures, increased the percentage needed for passage from a majority to 60 percent and — more recently — created burdensome regulations that ensure only wealthy insiders can fund a winning ballot drive. If Amendment Four passes, it will be the knockout punch that finishes off the citizen initiative once and for all. It will permanently concentrate power inside the state Capitol.

Right now every Floridian needs to be asking why politicians get to play by different rules than the ones they impose on the little people. State legislators can get elected and re-elected by a simple majority. They can pass binding laws by the same margin. And yet, these same elected officials absurdly suggest that citizen-led efforts should all fail if they cannot achieve 60 percent of the vote on two separate occasions.

Why do these politicians trust us to cast votes for them, but not to implement policies directly? Why are we considered capable of deciding our leaders, but not our constitutional amendments?

Inside the Tallahassee bubble there exists a view that citizens initiate constitutional amendments carelessly and with too much frequency. But this take is not supported by any evidence. Since the current Florida Constitution was ratified in 1968, 191 different amendments have appeared on the statewide ballot. Of that number, only 21 percent were proposed by citizens. The rest were proposed by politicians or their appointees.

That makes Amendment Four a solution in search of a problem. Its backers are asking the people of Florida to relinquish a core freedom — the right to petition our government — merely because they don’t agree with how we’ve chosen to exercise it.

Don’t hand politicians the monopoly they seek. Vote no on Amendment Four.