One of my fellow conservatives called me the other day to ask me what I thought about something she’d discovered far down on the sample ballot for the November election. That’s where she’d found six proposals to amend the state constitution.
“I knew there were at least four,” she said, “because of all of the publicity about No. 4, you know, the abortion one. And that No. 3 legalizing weed is also getting a lot of attention. But there are six?”
I assured her that there are indeed six amendments going before voters this fall. Each will need at least 60% of votes cast to be become part of a state constitution that has already been amended 144 times since it was adopted 56 years ago.
Moreover, dozens of other amendments were proposed but defeated in the 27 election cycles since 1968, so having only six going before voters makes this year below average for proposed amendments.
I added that, in comparison, the U.S. Constitution — adopted 237 years ago — has been amended only 27 times. The first 10 came right away in the Bill of Rights, two more prior to 1804 and three right after the Civil War. Only six amendments have been adopted in the past 100 years, and one of those was to repeal a previous one — Prohibition.
From my sketchy memory, I’m paraphrasing her response to my digression into history: “Never mind all that. So Florida’s constitution has had lots of amendments. Does it need six more? What do you think of this year’s crop?”
I responded by putting together some capsule comments explaining what I think about the six proposals on the ballot this fall. I urge voters to study the issues for themselves and check with trusted sources such as their local newspaper’s carefully researched editorial recommendations. Meanwhile, here’s what I think as a longtime observer of Florida’s history, government and politics:
Amendment 1 — Making school board elections partisan: A terrible idea. It would keep the millions of Floridians who have no party affiliation from taking part in the nominating process for school boards. In the current political climate, partisan primaries may well produce a general election choice between a woke Democrat parroting the teacher union’s leftist agenda vs. a MAGA Republican hellbent on banning books and harassing the LGBTQ+ community. I’ll vote NO.
Amendment 2 — Establishing a constitutional right to hunt and fish: Totally unnecessary and likely to churn up litigation on property rights and environmental issues ranging from wildlife management to endangered species. I’ll vote NO.
Amendment 3 — Recreational marijuana: The Legislature could legalize marijuana by statute, if it were so inclined. This amendment is a power grab by a company that used its political clout to muscle its way into becoming the industry’s dominant player. I’ll vote NO.
Amendment 4 — Right to abortion. By now every Floridian has been exposed to the pros and cons of this amendment through the barrage of mailers and TV ads. Former President Trump may be correct that Florida went too far in enacting a ban after six weeks of pregnancy, but this amendment arguably goes too far in the other direction by tying the hands of future legislators. Check out the arguments and vote for whatever your conscience tells you. I’ll vote NO.
Amendment 5 — Homestead exemption inflation adjustment: A good idea, and overdue. It would end the necessity of passing amendments in the future to accomplish this reasonable accommodation for inflation, thereby helping make housing less unaffordable. I’ll vote YES.
Amendment 6 — Repeal of public campaign financing. Public financing was supposed to help candidates of modest means mount a campaign, but it hasn’t worked out that way. Moreover, given the nasty tone of this year’s campaigns, the notion that some of it is financed by public funds is repugnant. I’ll vote YES.
Robert F. Sanchez, of Tallahassee, is a former member of the Miami Herald Editorial Board. He writes for the Herald’s conservative opinion newsletter, Right to the Point. It’s weekly, and it’s free. To subscribe, go to miamiherald.com/righttothepoint.
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