Florida Amendment 11, English as Official State Language Initiative (1988)

Florida Amendment 11
Election date November 8, 1988
Topic English language policy
Status Approved
Type Initiated constitutional amendment	Origin Citizens

Florida Amendment 11 was on the ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment in Florida on November 8, 1988. It was approved.

A “yes” vote supported establishing English as the official state language.

A “no” vote opposed establishing English as the official state language.

Election results

Florida Amendment 11
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		3,457,039	83.87%
No		664,861	16.13%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Amendment 11 was as follows:

“

Establishes English as the official language of the State of Florida. Enables the legislature to implement this article by appropriate legislation.

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Background

See also: History of English as official language ballot measures and laws

The following is a list of state ballot measures to designate English as an official state language:

State official language ballot measures
State	Year	Measure	Origin	Language(s)	Yes	No	Outcome
Nebraska	1920	Amendment 3: English as Official State Language	Convention	English	83.63%	16.37%	a
Hawaii	1978	Amendment 31: Preamble, Official Languages, and Motto Measure	Convention	English and Hawaiian	69.72%	30.28%	a
California	1986	Proposition 63: English as Official State Language	Initiative	English	73.25%	26.75%	a
Arizona	1988	Proposition 106: English as Official State Language	Initiative	English	50.50%	49.50%	a
Colorado	1988	Amendment 1: English as Official State Language	Initiative	English	61.15%	38.85%	a
Florida	1988	Amendment 11: English as Official State Language	Initiative	English	83.87%	16.13%	a
Alabama	1990	Amendment 1: English as Official State Language	Legislature	English	88.52%	11.48%	a
Alaska	1998	Measure 6: English as Official State Language	Initiative	English	68.60%	31.40%	a
Utah	2000	Initiative A: English as Official State Language	Initiative	English	67.18%	32.82%	a
Arizona	2006	Proposition 103: English as Official State Language	Legislature	English	74.00%	26.00%	a
Missouri	2008	Amendment 1: English as Official State Language	Legislature	English	86.31%	13.69%	a
Oklahoma	2010	State Question 751: English as Official State Language	Legislature	English	75.54%	24.46%	a
Idaho	2026	HJR 6: English as Official State Language Amendment	Legislature	English	TBD	TBD	TBD

Path to the ballot

See also: Signature requirements for ballot measures in Florida

The ballot measure was an initiated constitutional amendment. Proponents collected signatures to place the initiative on the ballot.

See also

1988 Measures

• 1988 Measures
• English language policy on the ballot
• 1988 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 Division of Elections, "Initiatives / Amendments / Revisions Database"