Florida 2020 ballot measures

Elections in Florida, 2020

• Election date: Nov. 3
• Registration deadline(s): Oct. 6
• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No
• Recount laws

• Early voting starts: Oct. 19
• Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Nov. 3 (received)
• Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots
• Voter ID: Photo ID
• Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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2020 Florida Ballot Measures
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2020 U.S. state ballot measures
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Six statewide ballot measures were certified for the ballot in Florida in 2020. Four were approved and two were defeated.

HIGHLIGHTS

Four citizen initiatives were on the ballot. Two were approved and two were defeated.

Amendment 1 was approved and changed the constitution to state that only citizens—rather than every citizen—who are 18 years old or older can vote in Florida.

Amendment 2 was approved and raised the minimum wage to $15 by 2026.

Amendment 3 was defeated; it would have established top-two open primaries

Amendment 4 was defeated; it would have required future constitutional amendments be passed twice.

The Florida Legislature referred two constitutional amendments concerning property taxes to the ballot. Both were approved.

On the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
CICA	Amendment 1	Suffrage	States in the state Constitution that only U.S. citizens who are 18 years old or older can vote in federal, state, local, or school elections	a
CICA	Amendment 2	Minimum wage	Increases the state minimum wage to $15 by 2026	a
CICA	Amendment 3	Elections	Establishes a top-two open primary system for state office primary elections	d
CICA	Amendment 4	Direct democracy	Requires voter-approved constitutional amendments to be approved by voters at a second general election	d
LRCA	Amendment 5	Taxes	Increases the period during which a person may transfer "Save Our Homes" benefits to a new homestead property from two years to three years	a
LRCA	Amendment 6	Taxes	Allows a homestead property tax discount to be transferred to the surviving spouse of a deceased veteran	a

Summary of campaign contributions

See also: Ballot measure campaign finance, 2020

The following chart lists support and opposition committee contributions for each measure certified to appear on the 2020 ballot. If you are aware of a committee that should be listed here, please send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Ballot Measure	Support Contributions	Oppose Contributions	Outcome
Florida Amendment 1, Citizen Requirement for Voting Initiative (2020)	$8,298,943.55	$1,918,102.04
Florida Amendment 2, $15 Minimum Wage Initiative (2020)	$6,270,488.78	$698,165.88
Florida Amendment 3, Top-Two Open Primaries for State Offices Initiative (2020)	$7,777,825.00	$1,918,102.04
Florida Amendment 4, Require Constitutional Amendments to be Passed Twice Initiative (2020)	$9,010,146.76	$1,918,102.04
Florida Amendment 5, Extend "Save Our Homes" Portability Period Amendment (2020)	$0.00	$0.00
Florida Amendment 6, Homestead Property Tax Discount for Spouses of Deceased Veterans Amendment (2020)	$0.00	$0.00

Getting measures on the ballot

See also: Signature requirements for ballot measures in Florida and Laws governing the initiative process in Florida

Florida allows citizens to initiate constitutional amendments. The number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast in the preceding presidential election. Florida also has a signature distribution requirement, which requires that signatures equaling at least 8 percent of the district-wide vote in the last presidential election be collected from at least half (14) of the state's 27 congressional districts. Petitions are allowed to circulate for an indefinite period of time, but signatures are valid for a two-year period of time; therefore, proponents must collect all of their signatures for verification within a two-year period. Signatures must be verified by February 1 of the general election year the initiative aims to appear on the ballot.

The deadline for signatures to be certified by the Florida secretary of state in order to qualify initiated constitutional amendments for the 2020 Florida ballot was set by law to be February 1, 2020. Since state law gives local elections officials 30 days to verify signatures, petitioners needed to submit signatures on or before January 2, 2020, to guarantee that an initiative qualifies for the ballot in 2020. The signature requirement for 2020 measures was 766,200.

The 2019 state legislative session ran from March 5, 2019, through May 3, 2019, during which time the Florida State Legislature was able to place constitutional amendments on the ballot. The legislature was able to refer measures to the 2020 ballot during the 2020 legislative session.

Referral of 2020 constitutional amendments

The following table illustrates the vote requirements for the constitutional amendments certified for the ballot, the votes the amendment received, and how Democrats and Republicans voted on the amendment in each legislative chamber:

No measures to list

Historical facts

See also: History of Initiative & Referendum in Florida and List of Florida ballot measures

• A total of 91 measures appeared on the statewide ballot between 1996 and 2018.
• From 1996 to 2018, an average of between seven and eight measures appeared on the ballot during even-numbered years in Florida.
• The number of measures appearing on the even-year statewide ballot between 1996 and 2018 ranged from three to 13.
• Between 1996 and 2018, 75.82% (69 of 91) of statewide measures were approved by voters and 24.18% (22 of 91) were defeated.
• In 2006, Florida Amendment 3 raised the requirement for approving a constitutional amendment to 60 percent. Between 2008 and 2018, four measures were approved by a simple majority, but failed to meet the supermajority requirement and thus were defeated. One 2018 measure, Florida Amendment 1, received a simple majority of yes votes (58 percent) but failed to reach the supermajority requirement and thus was defeated.

Florida statewide ballot measures, 1996-2018
Years	Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Annual average	Annual median	Annual minimum	Annual maximum
1996-2018	91	69	75.82%	22	24.18%	7.58	7.0	3	13

Local ballot measures

See also: November 3, 2020 ballot measures in Florida

In 2020, Ballotpedia covered local measures that appeared on the ballot for voters within the top 100 largest cities in the U.S. and a selection of notable police-related and election-related measures outside of the top 100 largest cities. Ballotpedia also covered all local measures in California and all statewide ballot measures. Click here to see the scope of Ballotpedia local ballot measure coverage by year.

Click here for more information about local ballot measures on the November 2020 ballot in Florida.

Not on the ballot

Type	Number	Title	Subject	Description	Sponsor	Status
LRCA	HJR 301 (2020)	Amendment to Abolish the Constitution Revision Commission	Direct democracy measures and Administration of government	Abolishes the Florida Constitution Revision Commission	Rep. Brad Drake (R-5)
LRCA	HJR 157 (2020)	School Board Member Term Limits Amendment	Term limits	Prohibits school board members from running for re-election after eight consecutive years in office	Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R-32)
LRCA	HJR 1325 (2020)	Repeal Public Financing of State Office Campaigns Amendment	Campaign finance	Repeals the section of the Florida Constitution that provides for public financing of candidate campaigns for state office	Rep. Vance Aloupis (R-115)
LRCA	HJR 7061 (2020)	Chief Financial Officer Duties Amendment	State executive official measures	Requires the Florida Chief Financial Officer to provide information about counties and municipalities to residents annually	Rep. Blaise Ingoglia (R-35)
LRCA	HJR 7093 (2020)	Petition Requirements for Initiated Constitutional Amendments Measure	Direct democracy measures	Requires initiative petitioners attempting to amend the state Constitution to gather signatures in each congressional district	Rep. Bob Rommel (R-106)
LRCA	SJR 362 (2019)	Amendment to Repeal the Constitution Revision Commission	Direct democracy	Abolishes the Florida Constitution Revision Commission	Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-24)
LRCA	SJR 74 (2019)	Amendment to Limit Constitution Revision Commission Proposals to a Single Subject	Direct democracy	Limits constitutional amendment proposals by the Florida Constitution Revision Commission to a single subject	Sen. Rob Bradley (R-5)
LRCA	SJR 690 (2019)	Amendment to Taxation and Budget Reform Commission Proposals to a Single Subject	Direct democracy	Limits constitutional amendment proposals by the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission to a single subject	Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez (D-37)
CICA	#18-03	Ban on Military-Style Firearms and Disqualifications for Firearm Possession Initiative	Firearms	Bans military-style firearms and provides disqualifications for firearm possession	Stop the Killing Committee
CICA	#18-06	Top-Two Open Primary for State and Federal Office Initiative	Elections and campaigns	Establishes a top-two open primary system for state and federal elections	Florida Fair and Open Primaries
CICA	#18-07	Open Primaries Initiative	Elections and campaigns	Allows all registered voters to vote in primary elections regardless of party affiliation, prohibits public resources to be used on primary elections unless everyone can vote	Florida Fair and Open Primaries
CICA	#18-10	Changes to Energy Market Initiative	Energy	Requires the Florida Legislature to adopt laws providing for changes to energy markets	Citizens for Energy Choices
CICA	#19-03	Firearm Background Checks and Waiting Periods Initiative	Firearms	Extends the current three-day waiting period for purchase of handguns to all firearms; requires background checks performed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement	Floridians for Universal Background Checks
CICA	#16-02	Marijuana Legalization Initiative	Marijuana	Legalizes possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by residents 21 years of age and older	Sensible Florida, Inc./Regulate Florida
CICA	#18-16	Medicaid Expansion Initiative	Healthcare	Expands Medicaid to individuals over age 18 and under age 65 with incomes at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level	Florida Decides Healthcare
CICA	#19-11	Marijuana Legalization Initiative	Marijuana	Legalizes the personal use of marijuana and allows Medical Marijuana Treatment Center to sell marijuana for personal use	Make It Legal Florida
CICA	#18-02	Medical Marijuana for Mental Health Disorders Initiative	Marijuana	Allows medical marijuana for mental health disorders	Peaceful Minds for Medical Marijuana
CICA	#18-05	Medical Marijuana Plants Initiative	Marijuana	Allows medical marijuana patients or caregivers to grow up to nine mature marijuana plants	Peaceful Minds for Medical Marijuana
CICA	#18-08	Voting and Signing Petitions by Internet Initiative	Elections and campaigns	Allows Florida voters to vote or sign petitions online through secure websites provided by the Florida Division of Elections	Florida For Change
CICA	#18-15	Acknowledgement of God Pledge in Schools Initiative	Religion and Education	Provides for a daily pledge in public schools for the purpose of acknowledging the role of God in America's founding	Pledge of Acknowledgement
CICA	#19-02	Community Service In Lieu of Traffic and Parking Ticket Fines Initiative	Transportation	Allows drivers to complete community service at any nonprofit organization instead of paying fines associated with traffic or parking tickets	Drivers Ready To Improve, Vote and Empower (D.R.I.V.E.)
CICA	#19-04	Reentry Program and Supervised Release for Criminal Offenders Initiative	Law enforcement	Directs the Florida Commission on Offender Review to develop a reentry program for criminal offenders and place qualifying offenders on supervised release	Floridians for Redeemable People
CICA	#19-05	Two-thirds Supermajority Vote Requirement for Amending State Constitution Initiative	Direct democracy	Changes vote requirement to amend the state constitution to a two-thirds (66.67%) vote of the voters who vote in the election rather than 60 percent of voters who vote on the amendment	Keep Our Constitution Clean PC
CICA	#19-06	Top-Two Open Primary for Federal Office Initiative	Elections and campaigns	Establishes a top-two open primary system for U.S. Senate and U.S. House primary elections	All Voters Vote, Inc.
CICA	#19-09	Forced Sale of Private Property Initiative	Property	States that it is the policy of Florida to prohibit the state from compelling businesses or individuals to sell their property to a third party	Florida Coalition for Private Property Rights
CICA	#19-12	Require State Legislature to Ratify Equal Rights Amendment Initiative	Constitutional rights	Requires the Florida Legislature to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment during its next legislative session	Floridians For Equality and Fairness Coalition, Inc.
CICA	#19-13	State-Funded Online Investing Courses Initiative	Education	Requires Florida to provide free online courses on investing to citizens who make less than $50 per hour or $100,000 annually	Florida For Change
CICA	#19-14	Abortion Ban After Detectable Heartbeat Initiative	Abortion	Prohibits abortion after a fetus' heartbeat is detectable	Protect Human Life Florida

See also

• 2020 ballot measures
• List of Florida ballot measures
• History of Initiative & Referendum in Florida
• Laws governing the initiative process in Florida
• Florida State Legislature
• Florida Constitution Revision Commission

External links

• Florida Division of Elections Booklet: Proposed Constitutional Amendments 2020 General Election
• Florida Division of Elections Booklet: Proposed Constitutional Amendments 2020 General Election
• Active Initiatives in Florida
• Florida Division of Elections