The 2024 Florida Amendment Series: Amendment 6 - Recommendation
Bottom Line: There will be six proposed constitutional amendments on Florida’s ballots in November’s general election. Four of those proposed amendments were referred to voter ballots by the Florida legislature and two were citizen led proposals which met all requirements for consideration by voters. The sixth of the six proposed amendments set to appear on our ballots this year would put an end to the public financing of campaigns. Here’s how the proposal will appear on our ballots in November:
Title: REPEAL OF PUBLIC CAMPAIGN FINANCING REQUIREMENT
Ballot Summary: Proposing the repeal of the provision in the State Constitution which requires public financing for campaigns of candidates for elective statewide office who agree to campaign spending limits.
A "yes" vote supports repealing the state constitutional provision that provides for public financing of campaigns for those running for elective statewide office who agree to campaign spending limits.
A "no" vote opposes repealing the constitutional provision that allows for the public financing of campaigns, therefore continuing to allow public campaign financing for statewide candidates who agree to certain spending limits.
In support of the proposed amendment, the sponsor of the amendment in the state Senate, Travis Hutson has stated: We’re putting it to the voters to make the decision on whether we should spend general revenue funds helping candidates run for office, or on other means that could help our constituents. ... I think it's absurd that anybody would be able to use taxpayer dollars for the purposes of campaigning. So those are dollars we could spend on things like education, things like healthcare, water projects, beach restoration, all of that stuff.
In opposition to the proposed amendment, state Senator Tina Polsky has stated: It is very clear that the Republican Party has a lot more money, funding, outside groups, special interest groups, who help pay for campaigns than the Democratic Party has in Florida. And, as a result, it seems this would be a negative for Democratic candidates.
I recommend a Yes vote on Amendment 6. As I’m preparing this recommendation a total of $562,771,146 has been contributed to political candidates/causes by Floridians in the 2024 election cycle. With that much money flowing politically throughout the state there’s clearly an opportunity for political candidates to seek funding for their campaigns without taxpayer resources being used. Should this amendment pass, it would be enacted in Florida’s 2028-2029 fiscal year. According to state records Florida taxpayers spend $4 million to $13 million per election cycle publicly financing campaigns.
The proposed amendment needs a minimum of 60% support to pass.