A Potentially Big Amendment 3 Backfire & The Contrast Is Even Clearer – Top 3 Takeaways – August 26th, 2026
Takeaway #1: Backfire
Yesterday my third takeaway was to check your TRIM, and know your TRIM (Truth in Millage) as you prepare to pay your property taxes and vote on Amendment 3 this year. As I illustrated with my personal example, a $12,843 decrease in property assessed value in Palm Beach County year-over-year has led to a proposed property tax increase of $1,449 for me this year. That's fun...though it is illustrative of the utter disregard most taxing authorities have with doing anything other than excessively taxing property owners with unjustifiable increases each year. Be sure to look at every taxing authority line and look at what you paid in property taxes last year and see what they're trying to extract from you this year. It's eye opening – especially with a general decrease in property assessed values locally. The egregious increases sought by local taxing authorities deserve to backfire with informed voters who reject significant tax increases in the face of declining property values. And speaking of backfiring something else that deserves to backfire too...the lawsuits seeking to change Florida's Amendment 3 language. When interest groups sued the state legislature's language describing Amendment 3 – they were seeking a change that would help it to be defeated. But when they won their lawsuit – their decision may have backfired. When a judge struck down the Amendment 3 language from the state legislature as 'political' and potentially 'misleading', it was incumbent on Florida's AG James Uthmeier to rewrite the amendment's title and summary. The title had been: Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes. The title was replaced with: Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homesteaded Property Assessments. Also, the rewritten ballot summary states: 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. It's clinical, it's non-controversial, and the initial polling shows that it's probably more effective...for the proponents of Amendment 3.
Takeaway #2: The findings
When the opponents of Amendment 3 sued to attempt to change the wording for the title and ballot summary, AG Uthemeier, who supports Amendment 3, joked that they may end up regretting that because the version he would write may not be something they like. When the extremely sterile language was produced, it seemingly appeared that Uthmeier chose not to use the power of persuasion with wording – opting for maximum fairness instead. Well, the irony happens to be that the new wording is polling meaningfully more effectively. The first polling conducted of the newly written version of Amendment 3 by Sachs Media shows something that's particularly interesting. It's polling 5-points better than it did previously. Sachs polled Floridians on the original wording and the newly rewritten version. The original version polled at exactly 60% - the minimum needed to pass, while the newly rewritten version polled with 65% support. What changed? Who supports the newly reworded Amendment 3. The original version with the attempted persuasive wording, polled 3-points higher with Republicans than the newly written version, however support among NPAs rose by 8-points with Democrats supporting at a 6% greater rate too. As stated by the pollster: Ballot language fights usually start from the assumption that persuasive wording helps a measure pass and plain wording hurts it. Our data point the other way. AG Uthmeier, formerly Governor DeSantis' chief-of-staff, is a particularly smart guy. He may have known this all along, perhaps waiting for the opportunity to come along to write the Amendment in the most effective way to gain at least 60% on Election Day. Should Amendment 3 manage to pass in November by fewer than five points – there's a good chance that the lawsuits seeking to stop it will have backfired – with Uthemeier's decision to present the information as objectively as possible to thank for the win. There's a lot to be learned generally and in many aspects of society from this exercise. Imagine, for example, if rather than being presented with GSS News – we were presented with Just the News.
Takeaway #3: The contrast could not be clearer
In a world where there's a political party that believes in abortion until birth (just signed into law in Massachusetts), child sex reassignment surgeries, open borders and government assistance programs for those who arrive here illegally...it's commonly the case that what's up seems to be down and what's right is presented as left. It's in that context that we once again contrast the Free State of Florida with the Empire State. On Tuesday, New York's latest law took effect. It's one that bans local law enforcement agencies from cooperation with ICE on immigration activities. Contrast that with Florida where law enforcement at all levels are legally required to cooperate with ICE on immigration activities when called upon. Given that illegal aliens have been responsible for 25% of all crime in recent years – New York has passed policy that will help to ensure that even those here illegally who commit crimes won't be turned over to ICE. Meaning New York state, no longer just New York City, is seeking maximum opportunities for illegal aliens to victimize its citizens.