As of Apr. 1, Florida’s Supreme Court has allowed Amendments 1-4, an annual adjustment for the Homestead Exemption and a repeal of public campaign finance laws to appear on the state’s 2024 ballot. Going into a presidential election year, voter turnout will presumably rise by roughly 20-25% following historical patterns.
When Floridians go to the polls this November, they will have the opportunity to vote on six changes to the Florida State constitution. Amendment one would make school board elections a partisan race. As a traditionally nonpartisan race, certain school board seats in densely populated counties have commonly had five or six people running for each seat. If made partisan there would be just two candidates; one Democrat and one Republican. Amendment two would establish a constitutional right to fish, doing away with the necessity for a fishing or hunting license. Amendment three would legalize recreational marijuana usage for those over the age of 21, with enforcement laws similar to alcohol. Amendment four would codify a woman’s right to choose, with a hard cut-off at the stage of fetal viability, and the ability for medical providers to decide on earlier cutoffs for their personal practices.
“I’d definitely say we shouldn’t let amendment two pass,” sophomore Sadie Windish said. “A lot of ecosystems would be damaged if the amendment passes, which would not be fair whatsoever.”
Going into 2026, a repeal of campaign finance laws would mean a significant decrease in financial transparency for candidates like Rick Scott and Debbie Murcasel-Powell, who are both running for Senate.
“Campaign finance reports don’t seem like they would be that important, but in my opinion it keeps things in check,” junior Sunny Goodspeed said. “It establishes a sense of trust when the politicians you’re supporting are getting money from the right places.”
The Supreme Court took until the exact deadline for filing decisions. The slow turnaround time could spell trouble for them as they go into the 2024 reelections.
“They took way too long to decide on amendments,” junior Eli Sirilla said. “If you can’t do your job on time then why should people keep electing you?”
