2024-11-06 13:25:03
While the nation is anxiously awaiting election results that will tell them who will lead the United States for the next four years, Floridians will be keeping their eyes on the results of six constitutional amendments.
Florida Amendment 3 and Amendment 4, which focus on legalizing weed and protecting abortion rights, have seen the brunt of ire from the state after Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration spent millions in ads opposing both measures and engaging in losing legal battles to remove them from the ballot.
DeSantis took flak in the months leading up to the election after he used taxpayer funds to pay for public service announcements attacking the measures, threatened to jail TV stations that aired a pro-Amendment 4 ad and sent law enforcement to the homes of people who signed the Amendment 4 petition.
2024 Florida election resultsSee who won and which amendments passed
So when will Florida voters get to know the fate of the six constitutional amendments? Here’s what we know.
When will we know the election results for Florida’s amendments?
There’s a pretty good chance that we’ll get a strong snapshot of how Florida feels about each of the six constitutional amendments on the ballot when results begin to be published at 8 p.m. ET.
Under Florida law, counties are able to begin tabulating their results as they come in, which means early voting and vote-by-mail ballot results will be available right out of the gate.
As of 2:26 p.m. on Election Day, nearly 8.3 million Florida voters had either voted early or voted by mail, which is just under 60% of Florida’s 13,845,913 registered voters.
The preliminary results reported by the state starting at 8 p.m. will be unofficial, however. Counties have until noon on Nov. 18 to send their official returns. Strong early voting numbers could help the state call the results early.
Will Florida Amendment 3 and Amendment 4 pass? What polls say.
Recent polls surveying Florida residents’ support around Amendment 3 and Amendment 4 show that both are favored by the majority of voters, but teeter on the line of gaining the number of votes needed to pass.
The Florida Atlantic University Political Communication and Public Opinion Research Lab (PolCom Lab) and Mainstreet Research USA conducted two surveys between Oct. 19 and Oct. 27, reaching 1,850 Florida voters combined.
The poll found that Amendment 3, which seeks to legalize recreational pot for adults, has substantial support with 60% of voters in favor, 34% opposed and 4% undecided.
Amendment 4, which seeks to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, shows significant support, with 58% of voters in favor, 32% opposed and 10% undecided.
The poll has a 3.2% margin of error.
A University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab (PORL) poll published on Oct. 21 surveyed 977 likely Florida voters between Oct. 7 and Oct. 18. The poll showed high Amendment 3 support, with 66% of voters indicating a “yes” vote, 30% saying they would vote “no” and 4% undecided.
On Amendment 4, 60% of the respondents said they would vote “yes,” 32% said they would vote “no” and 8% remained undecided.
The PORL poll has a 3.49% margin of error.
How many votes does an amendment need to pass in Florida?
Florida constitutional amendments require a 60% supermajority to pass.
Amendment 1 – Partisan School Board Members election results
- Yes: 54.9%
- No: 45.1%
- Estimated vote in: 85.46%
Please note: These are preliminary results as of 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The final numbers will be different as more votes are counted. These numbers were updated at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Amendment 2 – Right to Hunt and Fish election results
Florida Amendment 2, which sought to protect Floridians’ right to hunt and fish, passed with 67.3% of the vote.
- Yes: 67.3%
- No: 32.7%
- Estimated vote in: 84.78%
Amendment 3 – Recreational Marijuana election results
Florida Amendment 3, which sought to legalize recreational weed for adults, failed to reach the 60% supermajority needed to pass.
- Yes: 55.7%
- No: 44.3%
- Estimated vote in: 89.74%
Amendment 4 – Abortion Access election results
Florida Amendment 4 failed to receive the necessary votes to pass.
- Yes: 57%
- No: 43%
- Estimated vote in: 90.71%
Amendment 5 – Homestead Annual Inflation Adjustment election results
- Yes: 66%
- No: 34%
- Estimated vote in: 86.53%
Amendment 6 – Public Campaign Financing election results
Florida Amendment 6, which sought to repeal public financing for political campaigns, failed to pass.
- Yes: 50.3%
- No: 49.7%
- Estimated vote in: 82.52%
What are the six constitutional amendments on Florida’s ballot?
With six amendments on the ballot, it can be hard to remember which is which. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Amendment 1: Establishing school board elections as partisan — Amendment 1 would require school district board members to list their political party designation on the ballot and be elected in a partisan election, rather than the current nonpartisan elections.
- Amendment 2: Right to fish and hunt — Amendment 2 would make fishing and hunting a public right by enshrining it in the state’s constitution.
- Amendment 3: Adult personal use of marijuana — Amendment 3 would make it legal for adults 21 and older to have up to 3 ounces of marijuana and up to 5 grams of cannabis concentrate. It would also enable them to possess, purchase and use marijuana products and accessories without needing a medical marijuana card, as is the case now.
- Amendment 4: Amendment to limit government interference with abortion — Amendment 4 would prohibit any law that limits abortion rights before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s health care provider.
- Amendment 5: Annual inflation adjustment for Homestead property tax exemption value — Amendment 5 seeks to require an annual adjustment for inflation for the value of current or future homestead exemptions.
- Amendment 6: Repeal of public campaign financing requirement — Amendment 6 seeks to repeal public campaign financing, which gives some candidates running for specific positions, such as governor and other state cabinet positions, what is essentially a subsidy through the use of public money, provided that they stick to some restrictions on how much is spent.
