71% of Democrats and 64% of Republicans Support Changing Commissioner Elections

Key West, Fla. – April 25, 2022 – Keys Regional Election Protection (KeysREP), a grassroots organization petitioning for a ballot initiative to let voters decide how county commissioners are elected, announced today the results of a poll conducted across Monroe County on March 29 – April 1, 2022, that confirms overwhelming bipartisan support for adopting a single-member district voting system.

The poll found 62% of respondents said they would “definitely” or “probably” vote yes if a single-member district voting initiative was on the ballot, while 23% of respondents said they would “definitely” or “probably” vote no, with 15% unsure. The poll has a margin of error of +/-5.5%.

“Switching to single-member districts is supported by voters of all political parties from Key Largo to Key West,” said Christopher Massicotte, treasurer and spokesperson for KeysREP. “The issues Monroe County voters care most about are local, regardless of party affiliation.” A single-member district voting system is supported by 71% of respondents that identify as Democrats and 64% of respondents that identify as Republicans. No Party Affiliation voters support the measure with 51% with 18% responding “not sure”.

Monroe County currently has five county commissioners, who are elected “at-large,” meaning Monroe County voters can vote for any candidate for commissioner, even if a candidate is outside the voter’s own district. With a single-member district system, voters in each of the five Monroe County districts would only vote for those county commissioner candidates seeking to represent their local district, instead of voting for any candidate for commissioner across the whole county.

KeysREP advocates that single-member districts bring local control back to constituents of each district, and not developers or outsider interests that tend to bankroll candidate campaigns. With single-member districts, Commissioners are elected by the voters in their district and represent their district as they serve with others for the good of the county.

When asked about statements in support of single-member district voting in Monroe County, 64% agreed the fact that in 2020, one candidate received more votes than any other candidate in their district but was ultimately not elected because their opponent received more votes outside the district was a convincing reason to allow voters to determine if they would like to change the way commissioners are elected county wide in future elections. 71% of respondents agreed that a single-member district system better represents the will of the people in each individual district, because the people in each district elect their own representative.

“What we have to do now is get petitions signed,” Massicotte said. “We need at least 6,000 signatures to get this on the ballot so that voters can decide how they elect their commissioners. This amount is about 10 times more than what a candidate needs to collect to be on the ballot for election, and while a candidate could choose to pay a fee to get on the ballot in lieu of collecting signatures, we cannot. This initiative really depends on county voters recognizing that we are losing control with how our representatives are elected and taking action to stop it.”

Community events will be scheduled to distribute and collect signed petitions to get this initiative on the ballot. For more information, to sign a petition or volunteer to circulate petitions visit www.keysrep.com or follow @FLKeysREP on Facebook.

The poll was conducted by Change Research, an online based political research firm that works with forward-thinking campaigns and causes all around the United States.

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