The Florida Supreme Court removed one proposed constitutional amendment from November’s ballot but ruled three other contested measures could stand in a series of late Friday afternoon rulings issued as deadlines to print and mail election materials to absentee voters neared.
Three challenged proposals – Amendment 13, banning greyhound racing; Amendment 10, which would require all counties to elect sheriffs and other officials; and Amendment 6, which includes a crime victims’ rights measure – will be on the Nov. 6 ballot.
Amendment 8, which would allow a state agency instead of local school boards to create and manage charter schools, was struck down in a 4-3 vote, meaning Florida voters will see 12 proposed constitutional amendments instead of 13.
All of the challenged measures other than Amendment 13 were among the CRC’s six “bundled” proposals – up to three questions posing one “yes” or “no” response – meaning the Supreme Court did not “bundle” its rulings and dismiss them outright.
The decision to remove the most heated contested ballot measure, Amendment 8, upheld Leon County Judge John Cooper’s ruling that the measure's title and summary were misleading.
The suit challenging the measure was filed by the Florida League of Women Voters (LWV), which maintained including the charter school question with two relatively non-controversial proposals – imposing eight-year term limits on school board members and requiring students to study “civic literacy – was a purposeful obfuscation by the CRC.
“We commend the court for taking swift action to protect the integrity of the ballot by removing a proposal that was blatantly and intentionally misleading,” Florida LWV President Patricia Brigham said in a statement.
“While all of the bundled proposals have the potential to be confusing, the backers of Amendment 8 took it beyond confusion to intentional deceit,” Bingham continued. “The backers of this proposal on the CRC went to great lengths to hide the ball because they realized that Floridians would never knowingly forfeit their right to local control over their local public schools.”
CRC member Erika Donalds, who sponsored the measure, said "activist judges" derailed the will of the people in removing the measure from the ballot.
"We know that choice, competition and innovation are the avenues to continuous improvement for our education system,” Donalds said in a statement. “The education monopoly will not reform itself or welcome needed competition without policy changes."
The Supreme Court also ordered that Amendments 6, 10 and 13 stay on the ballot after facing separate challenges.
Additionally, the attorney general's office indicated on Friday it would appeal three other amendments struck from the ballot by a Leon County Circuit judge earlier this week.
The court in a 6-1 ruling reinstated Amendment 13 – which would ban gambling on dog racing in the state – after the measure was struck down by Leon County Judge Karen Gievers, who determined it would neither ban dog racing or gambling on dog racing.
"In short, Amendment 13 will not directly affect other forms of gaming,” the ruling stated. “The ballot language accurately informs voters of this, and we therefore hold the circuit court erred when it concluded the ballot language would mislead voters about Amendment 13’s effect on other forms of gaming."
“Today’s decision is a victory for all Florida voters, who are entitled to have an opportunity to ban this outdated practice in their state,” Animal Legal Defense Fund executive director Stephen Wells said in a statement. “We’re confident in November Floridians will vote to protect greyhounds and ban dog racing once and for all.”
The court provided no reason for upholding Amendment 6, saying it would do so at “a later date.”
Naples defense attorney Lee Hollander filed a suit challenging the measure, claiming it was “misleading” because it asks voters to give one “yes” or “no” response to one proposal asking them to approve increasing the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 75; allow judges more discretion to interpret rules by governmental agencies; and make crime victims’ rights under ”Marsy’s Law" the law in Florida.
Despite the Supreme Court rulings on the four measures, three others are still up in the air.
In a Leon County ruling issued Wednesday, Gievers struck down three other “bundled proposals” – amendments 7, 9, 11 – that state Attorney General Pam Bondi is appealing.
Amendment 7 would provide free state university tuition for the spouses and children of first responders who die on the job, while also requiring a supermajority vote before university boards of trustees could raise fees.
Amendment 9 would ban oil drilling in state waters while also banning vaping in indoor workplaces where smoking is banned.
Amendment 11 would remove language deemed obsolete from three current articles in the state constitution.
The state’s appeal keeps the questions on the ballot but their fates are uncertain.
Each of the proposed state constitutional amendments on the ballot – now 12 – must be approved by at least 60 percent of voters to become law.