Polls report voters undecided about Amendment 3
October 2nd, 2006 by admin
Animal advocates to VOTE NO!
In a poll conducted September 26 by the Miami Herald, 67 percent of respondents said that they would support Amendment 3 (27% opposed the amendment, and 6% undecided). But the Tallahassee Democrat reported that a poll taken September 22 found that only 44 percent of voters supported the amendment (with 23% opposed). We hope that the Tallahassee Democrat poll more accurately reflects the opinion of likely voters, but in either case animal advocates have a lot of work to do to defeat this amendment!
Amendment 3 would require that all future amendments to the Florida Constitution be approved by a “supermajority” of voters — 60 percent — instead of a simple majority.
Florida’s landmark initiative that banned the use of gestation crates to cruelly confine pregnant pigs in factory farms, passed with 55 percent of the vote in 2002. Politicians refused to consider legislation to ban gestation crates prior to 2002; the only option of animal advocates was to take the issue directly to voters.
Amendment 3 was put on this year’s ballot by Florida lawmakers and is supported by the deep pockets of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, developers and the agriculture industry. Of course, big business has a lot of influence in Tallahassee, and they don’t like it when Florida citizens try to enact public policy on their own. A recent article about Amendment 3 in the Sarasota Herald Tribune quoted an amendment opponent: “People need to see this for what it is: It’s a power grab by the Legislature and wealthy interests.”
Tell your friends, tell everyone you meet- vote No on Amendment 3 on Nov. 7.