Florida Amendment 11, Repeal Prohibition on Aliens' Property Ownership, Delete Obsolete Provision on High-Speed Rail, and Repeal of Criminal Statutes' Effect on Prosecution Amendment (2018)

Elections in Florida, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9
• Early voting: Oct. 27 - Nov. 3
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No
• Voter ID: Photo ID required
• Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

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On the ballot: U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Attorney General • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • Local judges • State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • Democratic primaries • Republican primaries

Florida Amendment 11
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic Constitutional language and Property
Status a Approved
Type Commission-referral	Origin Legislative commission
List of Florida measuresFlorida Amendment 1Florida Amendment 2Florida Amendment 3Florida Amendment 4Florida Amendment 5Florida Amendment 6Florida Amendment 7Florida Amendment 9Florida Amendment 10Florida Amendment 11Florida Amendment 12Florida Amendment 13Submit

Florida Amendment 11, the Repeal Prohibition on Aliens’ Property Ownership, Delete Obsolete Provision on High-Speed Rail, and Repeal of Criminal Statutes Effect on Prosecution Amendment, was on the ballot in Florida as a commission referral on November 6, 2018. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported this amendment to: repeal constitutional provision prohibiting foreign-born persons ineligible for citizenship from owning, inheriting, disposing, and possession property; repeal an obsolete constitutional provision stating that a high-speed ground transportation system be developed in Florida; and delete the constitutional provision that an amendment to a criminal statute does not affect the prosecution of a crime committed before the statute's amendment.

A "no" vote opposed this amendment to: repeal constitutional provision prohibiting foreign-born persons ineligible for citizenship from owning, inheriting, disposing, and possession property; repeal an obsolete constitutional provision stating that a high-speed ground transportation system be developed in Florida; and delete the constitutional provision that an amendment to a criminal statute does not affect the prosecution of a crime committed before the statute's amendment.

In Florida, a constitutional amendment requires a 60 percent supermajority vote at the ballot for approval.

Election results

Florida Amendment 11
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		4,680,526	62.13%
No		2,852,468	37.87%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

How did this measure get on the ballot?

The Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) voted 36-1 to place Amendment 11, which is composed of three constitutional amendments, on the ballot for the election. The 37-member commission, which meets every 20 years to propose changes to the Florida Constitution, is unique amongst the states. Florida is the only state with a commission empowered to refer constitutional amendments to the ballot. Republicans, including legislative leaders and Gov. Rick Scott, appointed 33 of the commissioners. Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) also served on the commission. Jorge Labarga, chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, appointed the three remaining members.

As Amendment 11 was a package of three constitutional amendments, voters could not approve or reject some, but not all, of the amendments. Voting “yes” on the ballot measure was a vote to pass the three constitutional amendments. Voting “no” on the ballot measure was a vote to reject the three constitutional amendments.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

PROPERTY RIGHTS; REMOVAL OF OBSOLETE PROVISION; CRIMINAL STATUTES.

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary was as follows:

“

Removes discriminatory language related to real property rights. Removes obsolete language repealed by voters. Deletes provision that amendment of a criminal statute will not affect prosecution or penalties for a crime committed before the amendment; retains current provision allowing prosecution of a crime committed before the repeal of a criminal statute.

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Florida Constitution

Amendment 11 would have amended Section 2 of Article I and Sections 9 and 19 of Article X of the Florida Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added, and struck-through text would have been deleted:

Note: Use your mouse to scroll over the below text to see the full text.

Section 2 of Article I Basic rights.—All natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life and liberty, to pursue happiness, to be rewarded for industry, and to acquire, possess and protect property; except that the ownership, inheritance, disposition and possession of real property by aliens ineligible for citizenship may be regulated or prohibited by law. No person shall be deprived of any right because of race, religion, national origin, or physical disability. Section 9 of Article X Repeal of Criminal Statutes.—Repeal or amendment of a criminal statute shall not affect prosecution or punishment for any crime previously committed before such repeal. Section 19 of Article X High Speed Ground Transportation System.—To reduce traffic congestion and provide alternatives to the traveling public, it is hereby declared to be in the public interest that a high speed ground transportation system consisting of a monorail, fixed guideway or magnetic levitation system, capable of speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour, be developed and operated in the State of Florida to provide high speed ground transportation by innovative, efficient and effective technologies consisting of dedicated rails or guideways separated from motor vehicular traffic that will link the five largest urban areas of the State as determined by the Legislature and provide for access to existing air and ground transportation facilities and services. The Legislature, the Cabinet and the Governor are hereby directed to proceed with the development of such a system by the State and/or by a private entity pursuant to state approval and authorization, including the acquisition of right-of-way, the financing of design and construction of the system, and the operation of the system, as provided by specific appropriation and by law, with construction to begin on or before November 1, 2003. Repealed.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2018

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The Florida Constitution Revision Commission wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 16, and the FRE is -2. The word count for the ballot title is 8, and the estimated reading time is two seconds. The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 15, and the FRE is 19. The word count for the ballot summary is 51, and the estimated reading time is 13 seconds. In 2018, for the 167 statewide measures on the ballot, the average ballot title or question was written at a level appropriate for those with between 19 and 20 years of U.S. formal education (graduate school-level of education), according to the FKGL formula. Read Ballotpedia's entire 2018 ballot language readability report here.

Support

Supporters

• Republican Party of Palm Beach County
• The ACLU of Florida
• Libertarian Party of Florida
• Florida Family Policy Council

Arguments

• Melba Pearson, Deputy Director for the ACLU of Florida said, "We support this amendment for several reasons. Number one, the language about someone who is not a citizen not being able to own or sell property is racist. It says "an alien" and that's racist. The second aspect is, let's say, for example, we pass a full legalization of marijuana in the state of Florida. This as a hypothetical -- that from today forward you cannot be arrested for possession of a certain amount of marijuana. But what about all the people who are now currently sitting in jail for that marijuana charge that is now legal? Shouldn't they be released from jail and have that removed from their record because this is no longer a crime? This amendment would allow that statute to apply retroactively to people who are affected."

• Tachana Joseph, a policy analyst at the Florida Policy Institute, wrote the following in the Tallahassee Democrat:

“

Amendment 11, if adopted by voters in November ... would be substantial for both the state and taxpayers. With the possibility of [inmates'] sentences being reduced, the state would cut down on expenses, and those funds could be diverted into crucial re-entry and substance abuse programs that have experienced major cuts this year. ... It would have major fiscal benefits for taxpayers and unprecedented positive effects on Florida’s inmate population.

”

Opposition

Opponents

• Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida
• Save My Constitution opposed this measure, as well as every other measure placed on the November 2018 ballot by the Florida Constitution Revision Commission. The group consisted of former state and federal lawmakers including Jim Kallinger (R), Jeff Kottkamp (R), Jennifer Carroll (R), Sandy Adams (R), and Connie Mack (R). The group argued that the measures are confusing and misleading and were placed on the ballot in a deceptive way by bundling multiple subjects in a single proposal.
• Tampa Bay Young Republicans

Media editorials

See also: 2018 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

• The Tallahassee Democrat said: "Amendment 11 is a good clean-up proposal, repealing some unnecessary or unenforceable facets of existing law. It is one of those mash-ups the Constitution Revision Commission threw against the wall, but all three pieces are worthy of approval. The first two — repealing the state’s ability to stop non-citizens from buying, owning or selling property and deleting obsolete language about high-speed rail in the Constitution – are, at worst, harmless... It’s the third part of Amendment 11 we care about. It deletes the existing 'Savings Clause,' which forbids making changes to criminal sentencing laws retroactive. Repealing the Savings Clause – something else almost all states have done — ensures that people who committed the same crime at different times serve equal sentences if the laws change."
• Your Observer said: "It’s not as if there will be wholesale releases of felons. This provision will give the Legislature the flexibility to change sentences retroactively. We oppose bundled amendments. But this one leans in the direction of expanding freedom. We recommend: Vote yes."
• The Palm Beach Post said: "Another bundle to support: Amendment 11, which deletes three outmoded clauses clogging up the Constitution."
• The Florida Times-Union said: "This involves two housekeeping issues and one smart justice reform that would save Floridians money and help reform lives. This smart justice reform would reduce the prison population, save the state money and provide incentives for rehabilitation."
• The Herald-Tribune said: "Amendment 11 would remove an old provision in the constitution that discriminates against non-citizens seeking to purchase property in Florida. It includes unrelated proposals that would add consistency to the constitution. We recommend voting YES, for Amendment 11."
• Ocala Star-Banner said: "Amendment 11 would remove an old provision in the constitution that discriminates against non-citizens seeking to purchase property in Florida — a law that is largely ignored. It also includes a provision that deletes language that requires criminal suspects to be prosecuted under the provisions of the law they’re accused of breaking, even if that law is changed by the Legislature. And it repeals an old amendment — the bullet train — that voters repealed. We recommend voting YES on Amendment 11."
• Orlando Sentinel said: "Amendment 11 basically cleans up some outdated parts of the constitution, including a particularly ugly, century-old provision that allows that Legislature to prevent noncitizens from owning property. The constitution is no place for xenophobia, which is reason enough to vote yes on Amendment 11."

Opposition

• The Sun-Sentinel said: "NO. From the revision commission. The major effect would be to allow the Legislature to reduce penalties for crimes committed before the repeal of a criminal law. The practical effects are unclear and the NRA’s reported interest in this provision is of serious concern. It’s combined with the repeal of two obsolete and harmless provisions that could await another day. Again, if the language and intent of an amendment aren’t perfectly clear, vote no."
• The News-Press said: "This is another amendment that will confuse voters because of its many moving parts on deletions and repeals of constitutional items. Most of what is in this bundled amendment should not be constitutional issues in the first place."
• The Tampa Bay Times said: "This amendment, among other things, would allow lawmakers to make some changes to criminal laws retroactive. Some gun-rights groups see this as a way to ensure that the revised Stand Your Ground law, which requires prosecutors, not defendants, to meet the burden of proof in pretrial hearings, could be applied retroactively. Other elements of the amendment would repeal a nearly century-old provision in the Constitution barring immigrants who aren’t eligible for citizenship from owning property in Florida. It also would erase a constitutional amendment ordering the construction of a high-speed train that voters already voted to repeal. Those final two elements are house-keeping measures, but the proposed retroactivity of criminal law changes makes this a non-starter for the Constitution. On Amendment 11, the Tampa Bay Times recommends voting No."
• The Treasure Coast Newspapers said: "While these three proposals are reasonable on their own — each represents a sensible "cleaning up" of constitutional language — we are opposed to the Constitution Revision Commission's practice of bundling them into one amendment."
• The Daily Commercial said, "NO. This would revise the Constitution to remove some language, including a provision that stops “aliens ineligible for citizenship” from owning property and wording approving a high-speed rail system. It would also remove the state’s Savings Clause, which prohibits retroactively applying the amendment of a criminal statute to sentencing for a crime committed before the change, and clarify that repealing a criminal statute would not necessarily affect the prosecution of that crime committed previously."
• The Independent Florida Alligator said, "Vote NO - Amendment 11 prevents “aliens inevitable for citizenship” from owning property. It allows applying an updated version of a criminal statute to sentencing a crime committed before the update. Put simply, it allows for a judge to apply a harsher sentence to a crime that has already been committed, and continue a prosecution under a statute that has already been repealed."
• The Miami Herald said, "Yes, making the Constitution’s language less archaic would be welcomed, but this amendment represents too much messing with the state document. Sounds more like mischief, and we don’t know what problem is being solved. Give this the thumbs-down."

Campaign finance

Total campaign contributions:
Support:	$64,062.00
Opposition:	$0.00

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Florida ballot measures

Ballotpedia identified one committee registered to support the measure: Yes on 11. The committee reported $64,000 in cash contributions and $64,000 in cash expenditures. The committee also reported $62 as an in-kind contribution from the American Civil Liberties Union. The top donor to the committee was Action Now Initiative, which provided $64,000.

Support

Committees in support of Florida Amendment 2 Supporting committees Cash contributions In-kind services Cash expenditures Florida for a Fair Wage $64,000.00 $62.00 $64,000.00 Total $64,000.00 $62.00 $64,000.00

Totals in support Total raised: $64,062.00 Total spent: $64,000.00

Top donors

The top three donors provided 100% of the contributions to the support campaign.

Donor	Cash	In-kind	Total
Action Now Initiative	$64,000.00	$0.00	$64,000.00
FAMM Action	$4,000.00	$0.00	$4,000.00
American Civil Liberties Union	$0.00	$62.00	$0.00

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Background

Alien Land Law

Voting on Immigration
Ballot Measures
By state
By year
Not on ballot
Local Measures

Section 2 of Article I of the Florida Constitution provided that "all natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law and have inalienable rights, among which are the right ... to acquire, possess and protect property." As of 2018, Section 2 made an exception for aliens ineligible for citizenship. Under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA), the term alien referred to persons who were not citizens or nationals of the United States. The exception was designed to allow the Florida State Legislature to determine whether persons ineligible for citizenship could acquire and possess property. The exception was known as the Alien Land Law. As of 2018, the state legislature had not adopted a statute to prevent persons ineligible for citizenship from possessing property in Florida. Although the courts had not ruled on the Florida Alien Land Law as of 2018, courts had struck down similar provisions in other states.

Voters approved a constitutional amendment for the Alien Land Law in 1926. More than 57 percent of voters approved the amendment.

In 2008, the state legislature referred a ballot measure to repeal the Florida Alien Land Law. On the ballot as Amendment 1, voters rejected the change in a vote of 52 percent to 48 percent.

Status of the high-speed rail amendment

In 2000, 53 percent of Florida voters approved a ballot initiative, titled Amendment 1, to provide for development of a high speed monorail in the state between major urban areas.

In 2004, a different ballot initiative was certified for the ballot to repeal Amendment 1. Voters approved the initiative to repeal Amendment 1 in a vote of 64 percent to 36 percent.

Although Amendment 1 had been repealed in 2004, the inoperative language remained in the state constitution.

Savings Clause

Section 9 of Article X of the Florida Constitution provided that the repeal or amendment of a criminal statute did not affect prosecution or punishment for a crime previously committed. Section 9, known as the Savings Clause, was added to the Florida Constitution in 1885.

As of 2018, Florida was one of three states, along with New Mexico and Oklahoma, with a savings clause in its state constitution. Unlike Florida, however, New Mexico and Oklahoma only prohibited the retroactive application of repeals of criminal statutes. New Mexico and Oklahoma did allow for the retroactive application of amendments to criminal statutes, whereas Florida did not as of 2018.

Path to the ballot

See also: Florida Constitution Revision Commission, 2018 proposals

The Florida Constitution Revision Commission referred the constitutional amendment to the ballot for the general election on November 6, 2018. The Florida CRC is a 37-member commission provided for in the state constitution that reviews and proposes changes to the Florida Constitution. The CRC refers constitutional amendments directly to the ballot for a public vote, which makes the commission unique amongst the states. Florida is the only state with a commission empowered to refer constitutional amendments to the ballot. The CRC convenes every 20 years.

Proposal 6006

In the CRC, the ballot measure was known as Proposal 6006. The measure needed to receive the vote of 22 commissions. On April 16, 2018, a total of 36 members (97.30 percent) voted "yes" on Proposal 6006. One member (2.70 percent) voted "no" on the proposal.

Proposal 3, Proposal 12, and Proposal 20 were combined to create Proposal 6006.

The following table illustrates how individual commissioners voted on Proposal 6006:

Commissioner	Appointed by	Occupation	Vote
Anna Marie Hernandez Gamez	Senate president	Former President, Cuban American Bar Association; Attorney	a
Arthenia Joyner	Chief Justice	Former State Senator; Attorney	a
Belinda Keiser	Governor	Vice Chancellor, Keiser University	a
Bob Solari	Senate president	County Commissioner, Indian River County; Former President and Manager, RMS Financial Services; Former President and Director, International Citrus Corporation and Incitco Realty, Inc.	a
Brecht Heuchan	Governor	CEO, ContributionLink, LLC; Owner, The Labrador Company	a
Carlos Beruff (Chair)	Governor	CEO, Medallion Homes	a
Carolyn Timmann	Senate president	Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller of Martin County	a
Chris Nocco	House speaker	Sheriff of Pasco County	a
Chris Smith	Senate president	Former State Senator; Attorney	a
Chris Sprowls	House speaker	State Representative	a
Darlene Jordan	Governor	Executive Director, Gerald R. Jordan Foundation; Former Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts	a
Darryl Rouson	House speaker	State Senator	a
Don Gaetz	Senate president	Former State Senator; Retired Vice Chairman, VITAS Healthcare Corporation	a
Emery Gainey	Governor	Director of Law Enforcement, Victim Services & Criminal Justice, Florida Department of Legal Affairs	a
Erika Donalds	House speaker	Member, Collier County School Board; CFO, CCO, and Partner, Dalton, Greiner, Hartman, Maher & Co., LLC	a
Frank Kruppenbacher	Governor	Chairman, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority; Attorney	a
Fred Karlinsky	Governor	Co-Chair, Greenberg Traurig’s Insurance Regulatory and Transactions Practice Group	a
Gary Lester	Governor	Developer and VP, The Villages for Community Relations; President, The Villages Charter School	a
Hank Coxe	Chief Justice	Former President, The Florida Bar; Attorney	a
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch	Senate president	Former Mayor of Sewall's Point; Realtor	a
Jeanette Nuñez	House speaker	State Representative	a
John Stemberger	House speaker	President & General Counsel, Florida Family Policy Council	a
John Stargel	Governor	Judge of the Tenth Judicial Circuit Court	a
Jose Felix Diaz	House speaker	State Representative	a
Lisa Carlton	Governor	Former State Senator; Co–Owner and Manager, Mabry Carlton Ranch	a
Marva Johnson	Governor	Chair, Florida State Board of Education; Regional VP of State Government Affairs, Charter Communications	a
Nicole Washington	Governor	State Policy Consultant, Lumina Foundation	a
Pam Bondi	Automatic	Attorney General	a
Pam Stewart	Governor	Commissioner, Department of Education	a
Patricia Levesque	Senate president	Executive Director, Foundation for Florida’s Future; CEO, Foundation for Excellence in Education	a
Rich Newsome	House speaker	Senior Partner, Newsome Melton	a
Roberto Martinez	Chief Justice	Former U.S. Attorney for South Florida; Attorney	a
Sherry Plymale	Senate president	Former Member, State Board of Community Colleges	a
Timothy Cerio	Governor	Former General Counsel to Governor Scott; Attorney	a
Tom Grady	Governor	Former State Representative; CEO, Continental Equities Group and GradyLaw	d
Tom Lee	House speaker	State Senator; VP and Director, Sabal Homes of Florida	a
William “Bill” Schifino, Jr.	Senate president	President, The Florida Bar; Attorney	a

Proposal 3

Commissioner Roberto Martinez was the lead sponsor of Proposal 3. The proposal was designed to delete a constitutional provision allowing laws to prohibit foreign-born residents ineligible for citizenship to own, inherit, and possess real property. On March 21, 2018, Proposal 3 was approved 27 to zero with 10 commissioners not voting. Proposal 3 needed to receive a simple majority vote of the commissioners to move forward.

Proposal 12

Commissioner Carolyn Timmann was the lead sponsor of Proposal 12. The proposal was designed to delete an obsolete constitutional provision requiring a high-speed ground transportation system. On March 21, 2018, Proposal 12 was approved 30 to zero with seven commissioners not voting. Proposal 12 needed to receive a simple majority vote of the commissioners to move forward.

Proposal 20

Commissioner Darryl Rouson was the lead sponsor of Proposal 20. The proposal was designed to provide that the amendment of a criminal statute does not affect the prosecution of any crime committed before the amendment. On March 20, 2018, Proposal 20 was approved 29 to two with six commissioners not voting. Proposal 20 needed to receive a simple majority vote of the commissioners to move forward.

Lawsuit

  

Lawsuit overview
Issue: Whether amendments put on the ballot by the Florida Constitution Revision Commission combine independent and unrelated subjects into one amendment, whether the structure of the amendments violate voters' First Amendment rights not to be required to pay a price for the right to vote for or against the proposed amendments
Court: Filed in Florida Supreme Court. Supreme Court transferred the case down to Leon County Circuit Court. Appealed to the First District Court of Appeals. Case taken up by Supreme Court on September 12, 2018.
Ruling: Ruled in favor of plaintiffs. Defendant appealed to the First District Court of Appeals, case moved to Supreme Court. On October 17, 2018, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court's ruling, instead ordering Amendments 7, 9, and 11 to remain on the ballot and votes on the measures to be counted.
Plaintiff(s): Retired Florida chief justice Harry Lee Anstead and former Florida Elections commissioner Robert J. Barnas	Defendant(s): Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner
Plaintiff argument: Amendment numbers 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, put on the ballot by the Florida Constitution Revision Commission combine independent and unrelated subjects into one amendment, voters cannot accurately vote on the issues bundled within each amendment, they should be removed from the ballot. Also, the ballot language for Amendment 8 is misleading.	Defendant argument: Amendments proposed by the constitution revision commission do not need to abide by the single subject rule, only initiatives proposed by the public are bound by the single-subject rule. Detzner did not violate Florida law by certifying the measures for the ballot.

  Source: Florida Supreme Court filings

Harry Lee Anstead and Robert J. Barnas v. Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner

On August 14, 2018, Retired Florida chief justice Harry Lee Anstead and former Florida Elections commissioner Robert J. Barnas filed a lawsuit against Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner in the Florida Supreme Court alleging that six measures placed on the ballot by the Florida Constitution Revision Commission should be removed from the ballot because they combine independent and unrelated subjects into one amendment. Additionally, the lawsuit alleged that the ballot language for Amendment 8 failed to clearly specify its intent, and was deceptive and misleading. The plaintiffs wanted the court to order the secretary of state to justify why the measures are allowed to be on the ballot or remove them from the ballot.

Involved in different lawsuits, the Florida Supreme Court ordered Amendments 6 and 10 to appear on the ballot while Amendment 8 was removed from the ballot. On October 17, 2018, the Supreme Court overturned a lower court's ruling and ordered Amendments 7, 9, and 11 to remain on the ballot also.

The amendments that were challenged in the lawsuit are listed below:

Type	Title	Subject	Description
CR	Amendment 6	Judiciary	Adds a Marsy's Law to state constitution, increases judicial retirement age to 75, and prohibits judges from deferring to administrative agencies in interpreting law
CR	Amendment 7	Education	Requires death benefits for first responders and military members, a supermajority vote for college fees, and adds state college system structure to constitution
CR	Amendment 8	Education	Establishes school board term limits, allows state to operate non-board established schools, and requires civic literacy in public education
CR	Amendment 9	Environment	Bans offshore oil and gas drilling and vaping in enclosed indoor workplaces
CR	Amendment 10	Admin of Gov't	Prohibits counties from abolishing certain local offices, changes start date of legislative sessions, and adds an executive office and executive department to constitution
CR	Amendment 11	Admin of Gov't	Repeals the following: (a) a prohibition against aliens owning property, (b) a requirement for a high-speed ground transportation system, and (c) a provision saying that changes to a criminal statute are not retroactive

Timeline

• On October 17, 2018, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court's ruling, instead ordering Amendments 7, 9, and 11 to remain on the ballot and votes on the measures to be counted.

• On September 12, 2018, the Florida Supreme Court accepted the case. By September 24, 2018, briefs had been filed by both parties.

• On September 7, 2018, Leon County Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers ruled that Amendments 7, 9, and 11 must be removed from the ballot. Gievers said Amendments 7 and 9 combined independent and unrelated provisions in a single amendment, preventing voters from making a single decision on what provisions of the amendment to support. She also ruled that Amendment 11 was misleading. Secretary of State Ken Detzner appealed the case to the First District Court of Appeals. Gievers' ruling did not concern Amendments 6, 8, or 10 because they were involved in other lawsuits. Amendments 6 and 10 were ordered to appear on the ballot while Amendment 8 was removed from the ballot by the Supreme Court.

• On August 29, 2018, the Florida Supreme Court transferred the case down to a lower court, the Leon County Circuit Court. The justices wrote, "The transfer of this case should not be construed as an adjudication or comment on the merits of the petition nor that the petition has been properly denominated as a petition for writ of quo warranto. The transferee court should not interpret the transfer of this case as an indication that it must or should reach the merits of the petition."

• Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi responded to the suit on behalf of Secretary of State Ken Detzner. Bondi argued that only initiatives proposed by the public are subject to the single-subject rule and that amendments placed on the ballot by the Constitution Revision Commission are not bound to abide by the single-subject rule. According to documents filed by Bondi, the state also argued that Detzner did not violate Florida law by placing the amendments on the ballot.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Florida

Poll times

In Florida, all polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Florida is split between Eastern and Central time zones.

Registration requirements

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Florida, one must be at least 18 years of age, a citizen of the United States, and a legal resident of Florida and the county in which he or she intends to vote. Pre-registration is available beginning at 16 years of age.

Voters may retrieve registration applications at the following locations:

• Local elections offices
• Public assistance agencies
• Disability services agencies
• Independent living centers
• Military recruitment offices
• Public libraries

A registration form is also available online. The form can be printed and submitted via mail.

Automatic registration

Florida does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Florida has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Florida does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Florida, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Florida does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration.

Verifying your registration

The page Voter Information Lookup, run by the Florida Department of State, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Florida requires voters to present photo identification with a signature while voting.

The following list of accepted ID was current as of April 2023. Click here for the Florida Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.

• Florida driver’s license
• Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
• United States passport
• Debit or credit card
• Military identification
• Student identification
• Retirement center identification
• Neighborhood association identification
• Public assistance identification
• Veteran health identification card issued by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
• License to carry a concealed weapon or firearm issued pursuant to s. 790.06
• Employee identification card issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the federal government, the state, a county, or a municipality

A voter who presents an ID without a signature must show a second form of identification that includes the voter’s signature.

State profile

Demographic data for Florida
	Florida	U.S.
Total population:	20,244,914	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	53,625	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	76%	73.6%
Black/African American:	16.1%	12.6%
Asian:	2.6%	5.1%
Native American:	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.4%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	23.7%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	86.9%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	27.3%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$47,507	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	19.8%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Florida. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Florida

Florida voted Republican in four out of the six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in Florida, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Florida had three Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.66 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respsectively.

More Florida coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Florida
• United States congressional delegations from Florida
• Public policy in Florida
• Influencers in Florida
• Florida fact checks
• More...

See also

2018 measures

• 2018 ballot measures
• Constitutional language on the ballot
• Property on the ballot
• Civil and criminal trials on the ballot
• 2018 legislative sessions

Florida

• Florida ballot measures
• Florida ballot measure laws
• Florida Constitution Revision Commission
• Florida Constitution Revision Commission, 2018 proposals

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
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• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Proposal 6006