As important as the presidential and Miami-Dade mayoral election are — arguably the most important in decades — candidates come and go. Constitutional amendments are forever.
There are six amendments of the Florida constitution on the ballot that could change state policy on a minimum wage, voters rights and even how future amendments are brought before us. It’s not 2018 when the ballot weighed more than a couple of ounces from the sheer number of state and local referendums. Florida had 12 different amendments then.
It makes one wonder how they came up with half as many only two years later. At least 60% of voters have to approve for any of them to pass.
Here’s Ladra’s guide to and recommendations on this year’s state constitutional amendments:
Amendment 1 would require voters to be U.S. citizens in order to vote.
Say what? Voters already have to be citizens. So what gives? A little subtle racism with a sprinkle of extremism, fueled by that its-now-okay hatred of immigrants and promoted by Republicans hell bent on voter suppression. That’s what.
Technically, the amendment would slightly alter constitutional language, from “every citizen” can vote to “only a citizen” can vote.
John Loudon, chairman of the amendment’s sponsor organization, Florida Citizen Voters, calls it a preemptive strike so that cities can’t just up and decide to let non-citizens vote, which they already can’t do.
The truth is that his wife, Gina Loudon, is a conservative media personality, a member of the Trump campaign’s media advisory board, co-chair of Women for Trump 2020 and a member at Mar-a-Lago.
This is really a veiled attempt at voter suppression by scaring and intimidating non-native born voters. Tsk, tsk. Shame on you.
Vote no and show them you’re not stupid.
Amendment 2 would raise Florida’s minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Not immediately, of course. Little by little. First it goes from $8.56 an hour to $10 an hour by Sept. 30 next year, increasing every year by $1 until it’s $15 in 2026! A buck a year. Does that even keep up with inflation?
This seems like a no brainer, even with a cost to government. It’s in bold all caps, which seems like whoever wrote the ballot question is trying to persuade the voter: “THIS PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT IS ESTIMATED TO HAVE A NET NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE STATE BUDGET. THIS IMPACT MAY RESULT IN HIGHER TAXES OR A LOSS OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES.”
Seriously. They should have just typed TOXIC WASTE for the same effect.
Opponents also argue that jobs will be lost and that this is the wrong approach because the cost of living is not the same in Miami as it is in, say, Mount Dora or Dunedin.
But employers have to find a way to pay a living wage to people by 2026, no matter where they live. It boggles the mind that anyone thinks any job is worth less than $10 an hour — and would still be worth only $10 an hour six years from now!
Vote yes because everyone deserves a living wage.
Amendment 3 would open primary elections for state races.
Florida currently has closed primaries, which are limited to Republican and Democrat voters. This leaves a growing number of independents and NPAs (no party affiliation) out of the loop. This amendment would change that, allowing all registered voters to participate in primaries for state legislature, governor and cabinet positions. All candidates for office, including party nominated candidates, would appear on the same primary ballot and the two highest vote getters would go to the general.
This is projected to have an estimated cost of between $5.2 and $5.8 million per county for each of the first three open primary election cycles.
But just imagine how much more engagement we’d get. That would lead to better candidates and issue-oriented campaigns instead of these hyperpartisan attacks. In a world that is increasingly polarized, it seems like a good idea to go in the opposite direction.
Vote yes.
Amendment 4 would make it harder for future amendments to be passed.
It would require all amendments or revisions to the state constitution to be approved by 60% of the voters in two elections rather than one. You know, for good measure.
Like we don’t know what we’re doing?
This seems punitive. And an insult to voters. Show our legislators that we know what we’re doing and vote no. Before they make us vote no twice.
Amendment 5 increases the portability on the Homestead exemption on property taxes — the time during which Save-our-Homes benefits may be transferred from a prior homestead to a new one — from two years to three years. Vote yes. It’s a protection homeowners need as the economy recovers from the COVID19 crisis.
Amendment 6 extends the Homestead property tax discount for veterans to their spouses when they die (until the spouse sells or remarries) and is also a duh, no-brainer. You don’t want to add to their losses. Vote yes.
Certainly those last two have a net negative impact on the local budgets, from the loss of ad valorem taxes, but, interestingly enough, that’s not explained in bold caps.
So, at the end of the road, what you have are two nos and four yesses on the state constitutional amendments — a mostly agreeable ballot.
Florida amendments affect future minimum wage and voting rights added by Ladra on
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