What to know about Florida’s Amendment 4: Requires second vote on constitutional amendments

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Under Amendment 4, Florida voters will decide this November whether constitutional amendments such as Amendment 4 should receive two general election votes before becoming part of the state constitution.

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Currently, a constitutional amendment requires a 60% vote to become effective, anything less means the amendment is rejected, but under Amendment 4 it would extend the process to another round of voting.

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Here is the Amendment 4 ballot summary:

“Requires all proposed amendments or revisions to the state constitution to be approved by the voters in two elections, instead of one, in order to take effect. The proposal applies the current thresholds for passage to each of the two elections.”

Read the full text of Amendment 4 here.

Keep Our Constitution Clean political committee is backing the initiative. The Orlando Sentinel reports the group is linked to a lobbying organization for Florida Power & Light and other large corporations.

“Keep Our Constitution Clean is what critics call a ‘dark money’ group, because it is organized under a section of federal law that allows it to hide the identities of its donors even though it is spending money to influence an election,” writes Orlando Sentinel politics reporter Jason Garcia.

ACLU of Florida and the League of Women Voters of Florida oppose the measure. Three major Florida newspaper editorial boards have also recommended voters say “no” to this amendment.

“Essentially, an amendment approved by Florida voters would not count unless it passed a second time in the next election. In other words, it negates the will of the people and requires them to try again a second time in order to get something passed. It is an effort to stifle the choices Floridians have made to improve our democracy,” the ACLU of Florida said.

Here’s how you should vote on the measure, depending on whether you support or oppose it, according to Ballotpedia.

• A “yes” vote supports requiring voter-approved constitutional amendments to be approved by voters at a second general election to become effective.
• A “no” vote opposes requiring voter-approved constitutional amendments to be approved by voters at a second general election to become effective.

Amendment 4 is one of six amendments Florida voters can expect to see on their ballot in the general election, and the language included with the other ballot measures may be just as difficult for voters to interpret on Election Day, which is why they’re encouraged to brush up on the ballot measures before heading to the polls.

Click here for a closer look at all six amendments.

Election Day is Nov. 3.

Click here or visit ClickOrlando.com/results2020 to learn more about what you can expect to see on your ballot.

• Find more election results and news on the Results 2020 page.