Florida Primary Elections Voter Inclusion Amendment (2018)

Florida Primary Elections Voter Inclusion Amendment
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic Elections and campaigns
Status Not on the ballot
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin Citizens
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The Primary Elections Voter Inclusion Amendment (#15-18) was not on the ballot in Florida as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018. The measure did not make the ballot in Florida as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 8, 2016.

The measure was designed to allow all voters to vote in primary elections, including legislative, congressional and gubernatorial, and eliminate government-funded party nominations for those offices. The top two vote getters in the election would have, under the initiative, advanced to the general election regardless of their party affiliations.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

All Voters Vote in Top Two Primary Elections for Congress, State Legislature, Governor, and Cabinet

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary was as follows:

“

Allows all voters to vote in primaries for Congress, legislature, governor, and cabinet; eliminates government funded party nominations for those offices. Candidate nominated by party appears on ballot as party’s nominee; other candidates may indicate party preference. Top two vote getters advance to general election regardless of party affiliation, except state office candidate obtaining majority of votes in primary is elected; provides for election of majority winner in Congressional primary if federal law is changed.

”

Constitutional changes

The measure was designed to amend Section 5(a) and (b) of Article VI and add subsection (c) of the Florida Constitution.

Sections 5(a), (b), and subsection (c) of Article VI of the Florida Constitution.

SECTION 5. Primary, general, and special elections.— (a) A general election shall, except as provided by subsection (c), be held in each county on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year to choose a successor to each elective state and county officer whose term will expire before the next general election and, except as provided herein, to fill each vacancy in elective office for the unexpired portion of the term. A general election may be suspended or delayed due to a state of emergency or impending emergency pursuant to general law. Special elections and referenda shall be held as provided by law. (b) Primary elections shall be held as provided by law. If all candidates for an office, other than those governed by subsection (c), have the same party affiliation and the winner will have no opposition in the general election, all qualified electors, regardless of party affiliation, may vote in the primary elections for that office (c) In primary elections for Congress, state legislature, governor, and cabinet: (1) All qualified candidates shall appear on the same ballot for each office at issue. (2) A political party seeking to have its nominee appear on a primary ballot may qualify to do so as provided by law. Primary elections conducted pursuant to this section shall not determine a political party’s nominee for office, and nothing in this subsection shall: (i) restrict the right of private association of parties or of individuals to join or organize into parties; or (ii) restrict the rights of parties to nominate, endorse, support or oppose candidates for office, or to otherwise participate in elections as provided by law. However, no government funds shall be expended to conduct any party primary, caucus or other party nominating process. (3) Candidates, nominated by a political party meeting the requirements for ballot designation established by law, shall appear on the ballot with their party affiliation designated as provided by law; all other qualified candidates may have their party preference designated on the ballot. The manner of such designations shall be established by law, provided that a candidate’s party preference shall be distinguished on the ballot from a party’s nomination. (4) All qualified registered voters may vote for any candidate regardless of the political party affiliation of the voter or candidate. (5) With respect to elections for state legislature, governor, and cabinet, a candidate receiving the majority of votes cast in the primary shall be elected to that office. If no candidate receives a majority, the top two candidates receiving the most votes cast advance to the general election regardless of their party affiliation. (6) With respect to elections for Congress, the top two candidates receiving the most votes cast in the primary advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation and regardless of whether one of them receives a majority of the votes cast; provided, however, if federal law is changed to allow for election to Congress by winning a majority of votes in the primary, then a candidate who wins the majority of votes cast in the primary shall be elected to that office. (7) A candidate elected to office in a primary election as provided herein will not be included on the general election ballot and no general election will be held for that office..

Full text

The full text of the measure can be found here.

Support

All Voters Vote, Inc. sponsored this initiative.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Florida

In Florida, signature requirements for qualifying an initiative for the ballot are based on the total number of votes cast during the most recent presidential election. Sponsors must collect a number equal to 8 percent of this total and in accordance with certain distribution requirements. Signatures can remain valid up to two years after the date they were signed, but they must be verified by February 1 of the targeted year, and therefore must be submitted prior to that date.

2016

• Supporters needed to collect a minimum of 683,149 valid signatures by February 1, 2016, in order to qualify the measure for the November 2016 ballot.
• By February 1, 2016, petitioners had not submitted any valid signatures, according to the secretary of state.
• Supporters did not collect enough signatures by the deadline to reach the ballot.

2018

• Supporters needed to submit 766,200 valid signatures by February 1, 2018, in order to qualify the measure for the ballot.
• As of November 6, 2017, the initiative effort was listed as withdrawn by the Florida Division of Elections.

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 five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

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
• Endorsers in Florida
• Florida fact checks
• More...

See also

Suggest a link

• 2018 ballot measures
• Florida 2018 ballot measures
• Laws governing the initiative process in Florida

External links

• Initiative information