Florida Amendment 4, Election of Circuit Judges Amendment (1942)

Florida Amendment 4
Election date November 3, 1942
Topic State judicial authority and State judicial selection
Status Approved
Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Florida Amendment 4 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Florida on November 3, 1942. It was approved.

A “yes” vote supported providing for the election of Circuit Judges.

A “no” vote opposed providing for the election of Circuit Judges.

Election results

Florida Amendment 4
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		50,046	66.79%
No		24,879	33.21%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Amendment 4 was as follows:

“

Question 4 Constitutional Amendment Article V     To amend Article V of the Florida Constitution by adding Section 46 providing for the election of Circuit Judges.

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Constitutional changes

Section 46. Circuit Judges shall hereafter be elected by the qualified electors of their respective judicial circuits as other State and County officials are elected. The first election of Circuit Judges shall be held at the General Election in 1948 to take office on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January, 1949, for a term of six years. The terms of all such offices as they shall severally exist at the time of adoption of this Amendment shall be and they are hereby extended to terminate on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January, 1949.

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Florida Constitution

A 60% vote was required during one legislative session for the Florida State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounted to a minimum of 51 votes in the Florida House of Representatives and 18 votes in the Florida State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments did not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot. Amendments on the ballot required a simple majority vote in this year.

See also

1942 Measures

• 1942 Measures
• State judicial selection on the ballot
• State judiciary structure on the ballot
• State judicial authority on the ballot
• 1942 legislative sessions

Florida

• Florida ballot measures
• Florida ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Florida Constitution Revision Commission, "Florida's Constitutions: The Documentary History"
• The Miami Herald, "These Are the Nine Amendments Upon Which Voters Will Act In General Election On Tuesday," November 1, 1942