Six initiatives that will appear on November ballot

Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Besides the slew of candidates that will appear on ballot in the November general election, Floridians will see six statewide initiatives – four of them initiated by citizens, and two by the Florida Legislature.
Typically, amendments require a 60-percent supermajority vote for passage.

Amendment 1 is citizen initiated. It would require that only citizens of the United States may vote in Florida. To vote, additionally, individuals would have to be 18 years of age, permanent Florida residents, and registered voters.
How is this different from the current situation?

The amendment’s intent is a fine distinction.

The operative word in the amendment is “only.” The current wording in the Florida Constitution states that “Every citizen of the United States” who meets the age and permanent residency and registration requirements “shall be qualified to vote in a Florida election.”

Amendment 1 would tweak the language to “Only a citizen of the United States, etc.”
The initiative’s proponent argue that the word “every” is inclusive, saying who can vote, but not specifically who can’t. The subtlety may be lost on many voters.

The initiative’s sponsor is Florida Citizen Voters, whose founder, John Loudon, has supported similar measures in Alabama and Colorado. Loudon argues that the amendment is needed because, except for Arizona and North Dakota, no other state’s constitution specifically requires citizenship to vote.

The amendment reportedly has no known organized opposition to date.

Amendment 2, which is also citizen initiated, involves the minimum wage. It seeks to increase the minimum wage in Florida by annual increments from the current $8.56 hourly to $15 hourly by 2026.

If approved by voters, the minimum wage would rise to $10 hourly on Sept. 30, 2021, and it would increase by $1 annually thereafter until 2026. Beginning in 2027, the standard costs of living increases would resume.

The initiative’s sponsor is Florida For a Fair Wage, which argues that the amendment would provide hard-working Floridians with a living wage. It defines ‘a living wage’ as the minimum cost that covers the basic needs of an individual and his or her family without government assistance.

The group argues that Florida’s minimum wage of $8.46 hourly, or $17,600 annually for full-time workers, is not a livable wage for the 200,000 or so affected Floridians and their families.

Opposing the initiative is the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. This groups argues that a $15-per-hour minimum wage will adversely impact the state’s tourism industry and result in staffing cutbacks and reduced hours for the remaining workers, along with forcing the industry to find alternatives to labor, such as in automation. Ultimately, they say, the costs will be passed on to the consumers.

Amendment 3 is likewise citizen initiated. It seeks to open Florida primaries to all voters, regardless of political party affiliation.

The amendment seeks to change Florida’s closed primary elections for the state’s elected officials to a top-two open primary system, regardless of political party. Offices that would be affected by the change are state legislators, governor, elected cabinet officials and the attorney general.

Primaries in Florida are currently closed, meaning that only voters who are affiliated with a particular party can vote for the candidate who will represent their party in the general election.

The open primary would list all qualified candidates running for a particular office on the primary ballot, and all registered voters would be allowed to vote, regardless of party affiliation in both instances. The top-two vote getters would then proceed to the general election.

Or if only two qualified candidates stepped forward, the primary would be cancelled and both candidates would automatically proceed to the general election.

The amendment’s proponents, led by All Voters Vote, Inc., say Florida’s primaries currently exclude the majority of voters, such as independents. The primaries, they also say, often result in the most extreme and partisan candidates proceeding to the general election. Amendment 3, proponents say, would make politicians accountable to all the voters, not only the ones in their political party.

Opponents of the amendment include Florida’s Republican and Democratic parties. The two parties claim that the amendment’s language is confusing and misleading. In their view, the amendment would limit voters’ options and could potentially shut out one party in the general election.

Amendment 4 is also citizen initiated. It would require constitutional amendments to have to be approved twice. Currently, if Florida voters approve an amendment in the general election, it goes into effect. Amendment 4 would require that voters approve the amendment in two successive general elections before it could go into effect. It would also require supermajority votes of 60 percent each time for the amendment’s passage.

The leading proponent of Amendment 4 is Keep Our Constitution Clean, Inc., whose main supporter is Attorney Jason Zimmerman. This group says Amendment 4 would cut down on the seemingly frivolous changes to the Florida Constitution, noting that it has been changed 140 times since the 1960s, whereas the U.S. Constitution has been amended only 27 times since the 1787.

The amendment’s opponents say the change would make the constitution more difficult and expensive to amend. They say it would also cause delays in needed changes.

Amendment 5 is a legislative initiative that would extend the “Save Our Homes” transfer time. The proposed change would allow those who move to a new house more time to transfer their “Save Our Home” benefits to the new place.

The amendment would in effect change the current two-year transfer time to three years for homestead exemptions, which can range from $25,000 to $50,000 annually.

The Florida Revenue Estimating Conference has determined that the amendment’s passage would reduce local governments’ tax revenues by $1.8 million beginning in fiscal year 2021-22, and the loss would grow to a $10.2 million annual reduction in time.

Presently, there is no known organized opposition to the amendment.

Amendment 6 is also a legislative initiative. It proposes giving a homestead discount to the surviving spouses of deceased veterans. The discount would be in effect until the spouse remarries, sells, or otherwise disposes of the property. If the spouse sells the property but does not remarry, the discount would carry to the person’s new primary residence.

This amendment also had no known opposition at present.