Rural Counties

[Keith Broaders]

534,000 people live in the 13 rural counties in Florida's 3rd Senatorial District in Northern Florida and they have just one stte senator, while Miami Dade County has six senators,

There are 7 districts representing  the people in 16 counties in Florida's panhandle while Miami Dade is one County with 16 representatives.

The people living in the Miami-Dade County completely dominate both of the state 's legislative chambers.

How can one senator represent 13 different counties at the same time. If the Senator in District 3 wants to be re-elected he or she must focus their attention on Leon County

that has a population greater than the collective population of the other 12 counties in the 3rd Senatorial District .If the Counties are not represented who will speak up to protect the counties natural resources.

In order to comply with a Supreme Court opinion  the state legislature accepted the ruling and stripped the rural  counties of of their seat at the bargaining table.

This Supreme Court  had no lawful authority to require the state's to reorganize their state's legislature to comply with wishes. Rather than rejecting the Supreme Court decision, the limp wristed politicians  in Tallahassee caved in and turned the state's bicameral legislature into a unicameral legislature with 2 houses rea single constituency.

As a result the senators in the small rural counties can no longer have a seat at the bargaining table.

 Before the Supreme Court decision of the 1960's the small rural counties had a voice and the ability being steam rolled by the msjority.

The states already had their own Constitution before the U.S, Constitution was ratified, Most of the states set up bicameral legislatures with one House to represent the people directly and a separate House to represent the Counties.

Many Constitutional scholars believe that the Supreme Court had no Constitutional authority to force the states to re-write their Constitutions in order to comply with the Supreme Court opinion.

to comply with their rulings. Their decisions of the Supreme Court are opinions that ca be accepted or rejected..

The state senate became a second  version of the state's House of Representatives and disenfranchised the small  rural counties  

If the U.S. Senate were apportioned like it is in Florida we would have 42 U.S, Senators instead of 2.

 The U.S. Senate and the Senate of the States was supposed to be based on equal representation of the States and the Counties.