September 2026 Special Election Issue | | Special Election Issue: The Amendments | |
- From the Party Chair
- Important Dates
- Amendment #1 Budget Stabilization Fund
- Amendment #2 Exemption of Tangible Personal Property
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- Amendment #3 Increased Homestead Exemption
- County Charter - Single Member Districts
- County Charter - Term Limits
- County Charter - Merger of Mosquito Districts
- Provisional Ballots
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From the County Chair
by Jim Rosinus, Chair
There is a lot more to your ballot than just the headline political races. One of the things we can do in Florida (not all states have this option) is take direct action on issues. This ability shows up at the very end of the ballot, in the fine print of Constitutional Amendments and County Referenda. This is where you get to have a say in the very structure of our government and the laws we live under.
It is vitally important that you take an extra couple of minutes to vote the entire ballot.
This year we get to decide on three potential changes to our State Constitution. Unfortunately, they are bad changes to the law, and they will negatively impact the average Floridian for years to come.
There are also two proposed changes to County law: one is very good, and the other is basically useless. See our analysis and recommendations below on the Amendments and Referenda.
This is your chance to bypass the politicians and special interests and make the decisions that will affect you and your family.
Please vote the entire ballot.
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Important Dates
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Monday, October 5: Last day to register to vote in the November elections
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Thursday, October 22: Vote-by -Mail Enrollment Deadline
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Monday, October 19, through Saturday, October 31: Early Voting from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm daily Locations
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Tuesday, November 3: General Election Day – Take Back Florida, Go Vote! Find your polling place
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Constitutional Amendment #1: Budget Stabilization Fund
Summary: Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to increase the amount of funds that may be retained in the budget stabilization fund from 10% to 25% of general revenue collections, require the legislature to transfer the lesser of $750 million or the amount required to reach 25% of the general revenue collections each year unless certain conditions are met, and allow the legislature to withdraw funds for critical state needs.
What we'd like you to consider: This amendment will provide windfall tax relief for a handful of giant Agribusinesses. This provides no distinction between family-owned and operated farms and these large agricultural corporations. This amendment will further reduce the revenue collected from property taxes for counties, which will result in additional service cuts and/or other tax increases
Read the resolution
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Constitutional Amendment #2: Exemption of Tangible Personal Property on Agricultural Land from Taxation
Summary: Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to exempt tangible personal property habitually located or typically present on land classified as agricultural, used in the production of agricultural products or for agritourism activities, and owned by the landowner or leaseholder of the agricultural land from ad valorem taxation. If approved, this amendment would first apply for tax years beginning January 1, 2027.
What we'd like you to consider: Amendment 2 creates a special property-tax exemption for agricultural businesses, cutting revenue for local governments. The biggest benefits could go to Big Sugar and other large agribusinesses, while local taxpayers and communities are left to make up the difference. Read the resolution
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Constitutional Amendment #3
Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments
Summary: This amendment increases the homestead exemption, for all non-school taxes, to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and adjusts for inflation thereafter. It requires the Legislature to prescribe a uniform procedure for counties and municipalities, for their respective levies, to increase the homestead exemption up to full assessed value, and allows special districts, subject to referendum approval, to do the same.
Persons who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026, will receive the existing homestead exemption upon qualifying for a homestead exemption, with the increased homestead exemption beginning with the fifth year of exemption, to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution. This amendment reduces the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead properties from 10% to 5%. This amendment requires counties and municipalities to use property taxes solely for public safety, education and schools, infrastructure, natural resources, bond debt service, employee retirement benefits, and operations and administration. Other expenditures may be approved by county officers or county or municipal governing bodies unless prohibited by general law, notwithstanding Article VII, Section 9(a) of the Florida Constitution, which allows counties and municipalities to levy property taxes for their respective purposes. This amendment takes effect January 1, 2027.
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What we'd like you to consider:
This amendment is a direct attack on local control and an attempt to consolidate power in Tallahassee. The significant loss of revenue will result in either sizable cuts in services OR shifting of tax burden to sales tax, which will greatly erode local controls. Counties will need to apply to the state for additional funding. Estimates put the sales tax rate needed to replace the lost revenue at an additional 6-7%, giving Florida residents a sales tax of roughly 13.5%. In the alternative to sales tax increases, Counties could raise local ad valorem taxes to offset the reduction in property tax revenue. These alternative taxing mechanisms create a far more regressive tax policy, adversely affecting low- and middle-income residents.
Read the resolution
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If this amendment passes, cities and counties will lose nearly $5 billion in tax revenue next year, and almost $12 billion by 2032.
What does that mean? It means local authorities will have less money to maintain infrastructure like roads, bridges, stormwater drainage, flood control, and natural resource projects. It means less money for police and fire protection. It means less funding for libraries, parks, and recreation centers.
Fewer first responders mean longer response times when every second counts.
In addition to the FDP, Amendment 3 has been opposed by groups
from the Audubon Society to the League of Women Voters to the Fraternal Order of Police, the Florida Professional Firefighters, and the Florida Sheriffs Association.
Setting tax policy statewide through the Constitution sets up a one-size-fits-all approach that destroys the ability of local
government to respond to local issues. Floridians need a state fiscal structure that equitably distributes tax responsibility and responds to public needs.
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County Charter Referendum: County Commission Single Member Districts
Summary: Shall Chapter 2025-222, Laws of Florida, which amends the Lee County Home Rule Charter to provide that, beginning with the 2028 general election, the Board of County Commissioners shall be composed of five members elected in single-member districts, and become effective?
What we'd like you to consider: The change will bring greater accountability of Commissioners to their districts. Multiple elections have seen candidates for Commissioner lose countywide despite winning the district they represent. Read the resolution
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County Charter Referendum: Term Limits
Summary: County Charter Amendment Section 3.1 “Elected County Constitutional Offices”; limiting the number of consecutive terms of the County Constitutional Officers; the amendment would limit County Constitutional Officers to serving no more than three (3) consecutive four-year terms in office. No previous term in office which is in progress as of November 2026 shall be considered a term of service for purposes of the limitations contained herein.
What we'd like you to consider:
The Amendment has no teeth; it does not include prior or current terms in office and can easily be circumvented. A Commissioner could serve for three terms, then leave office for one term and return to office for another three terms. Read the resolution
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County Charter Amendment
What you'll see on the ballot: Merger of Mosquito Districts, Lee County Mosquito Control District to Include all of Lee County
Shall Chapter 2025-235, Laws of Florida, amending the boundaries of the Lee County Mosquito Control District to include all of Lee County, abolishing the Fort Myers Beach Mosquito Control District, and transferring the assets and
liabilities of the Fort Myers Beach Mosquito Control District to the Lee County Mosquito Control District, become effective?
What we'd like you to consider:
Voters will decide whether the Lee County Mosquito Control District should include all of Lee County and absorb the Fort Myers Beach district. In September 2026, Fort Myers Beach Mosquito Control signed an agreement with Lee County to resume spraying in Estero Bay and Bunche Beach preserves, but this is a temporary arrangement. The merger is a major policy shift that could streamline mosquito control in Lee County but will significantly raise Fort Myers Beach’s tax burden and reduce local autonomy.
Supporters argue that combining operations would eliminate redundancy and allow the county to manage all adult mosquito surveillance and spraying under one system. Lee County says it already spends about $60,000 annually on Fort Myers Beach spraying and that costs have risen to $120,000 due to helicopter expenses.
Fort Myers Beach residents would pay double the current millage rate — from 0.1123 to 0.22 per $1,000 of assessed value — if the merger passes. Fort Myers Beach Commissioner Steve Johnson warns that residents would lose tailored, on‑site services and have to wait in line with other districts for treatments. Fort Myers Beach’s unique geography (surrounded by the Estero Bay Preserve) requires special treatment restrictions; state law limits county spraying in those areas.
Read the referendum
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Trouble Voting? Don't Leave Without Asking
If you believe you are registered and eligible to vote, but poll workers say your signature does not match, cannot confirm your eligibility, or tell you that you are in the wrong polling station, ask about a provisional ballot. You may vote provisionally if your voting right is challenged.
First, ask whether the problem can be resolved so you can cast a regular ballot. If it cannot, a provisional ballot lets you cast your vote while your eligibility is reviewed. The important thing is not to leave the polling place without understanding your options.
If you have time to get to your precinct polling station to cast your ballot, that is preferable.
The distinction between a provisional ballot and a regular ballot is that regular ballots are tallied right away. A provisional ballot is considered only if a race is too close to call or the number of provisional ballots could change the outcome. Here is the link to check if your provisional ballot is counted: Check My Provisional Ballot Status | Lee County Elections, FL
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The Informed Democrat is published monthly and posted on the LeeCountyDems.org website.
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Editor: Mary Peabody
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from the Florida Democratic Party nor the National Democratic Party.
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