Florida Amendments’ Results 2024: No to marihuana and abortion, Yes to fishing
By Maria Alejandra Pulgar
Six constitutional amendments were put to the vote this Election Day in Florida. Floridians voted early and with more than 80% of the votes counted, the tendency for the approval or dismissal of the constitutional amendments can be confirmed as follows:
Amendment 1 – Partisan election of School Board members: NO
57.24 % of the votes counted approved that school board member elections should be related to the party of the candidates. It would take 3% more votes to achieve the 60% needed to confirm the passing of this decision, which is not likely to happen based on the number of votes pending to count at the time of closing this edition.
Amendment 2- Right to Fish and Hunt: YES
Almost 68 % of votes have confirmed the passing of the right to fish and hunt, including the use of traditional methods.
Amendment 3 – Personal Use of Marihuana: NO
There is a virtual tie among the YES and NO option, reflecting the polarized views of Floridians on this issue. Given these results, it is projected that none of the options would achieve the 60% needed for recreational use of marihuana to pass on this election.
Amendment 4 – Limit government interference with Abortion: NO
What has been the more controversial and discussed amendment for Florida, is unlikely to pass even with 58.5% of approving votes so far. This amendment would have enshrined in the state constitution that “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay or restrict abortion before viability” or when necessary for the patient’s health. There were more than 1,040,000 total votes cast for this amendment, more than any other issue in the ballot.
Amendment 5 – Adjust Value Homestead Exemption: YES
An overwhelming 71% of Floridians approved so far that there is an annual adjustment for inflation of the Homestead exemption value for residence owners in the state.
Amendment 6 – Repeal Campaign Finance Requirements: NO
A virtual tie between both options result on the repeal of public financing for candidates who agree to spending limits not passing on this election cycle.