World News – US – Explaining Proposed Florida Poll Amendments

ORLANDO, Florida – Hundreds of thousands of Florida voters have already sent in their ballots for the 2020 general election and statewide advance voting begins Monday

While the primary goal of the election is to choose between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, Floridians will also be faced with six proposed amendments

Under Amendment 1, the state constitution would change the wording of the state constitution to say that « only a citizen » of the United States would be allowed to vote in Florida

The Florida Constitution now says, « Any citizen of the United States who is at least eighteen years of age and who is a permanent resident of the state, if registered according to law, will be a voter. of the county where it is registered »

The proposal would change this wording to read: « Only a citizen of the United States who is at least eighteen years of age and who is a permanent resident of the state, if registered in accordance with the law, will be voter of the county registration « 

Under Amendment 2, voters in Florida will decide to increase the minimum wage from $ 8.56 to $ 15 by 2026

Amendment 2 raises the minimum wage to $ 10 per hour as of September 30 of next year.Each subsequent year the minimum wage will increase by $ 1 per hour until the minimum wage will hit $ 15 an hour on September 30, 2026 In the future, future minimum wage increases will be adjusted annually for inflation, starting in 2027

Under Amendment 3, registered voters in Florida would be allowed to vote in primary elections, regardless of party affiliation The two candidates with the most votes in each primary would advance to the general election

Amendment 4 would require any amendment to be approved in two separate elections before it could be incorporated into the constitution. 60% of the electorate’s approval would be required each time

Amendment 5, which was put on the ballot by the Florida Legislature, extends the time limit for Florida homeowners to transfer a Save Our Homes tax benefit from two to three years when they move to a new residence

Analysis by state officials shows that passing the amendment will reduce local tax revenue by $ 1.8 million as of fiscal year 2021-2022, rising to $ 10 million by fiscal year 2025-2026

AMENDMENT 6: Ad valorem tax reduction for spouses of certain deceased veterans who had combat-related permanent disability

Amendment 6, which was put on the ballot by the Florida legislature, would allow deceased veterans with combat-related disabilities to defer to a veteran’s surviving spouse until that the latter remarries or sells the property

If the spouse sells the property and does not remarry, the spouse’s new primary residence will benefit from the property tax reduction Surviving families would receive financial assistance with the adoption of the amendment

Check out the FOX 35 VECTOR’S GUIDE for everything you need to know about the 2020 election, including polling locations, advance poll dates, and sample ballots

Ballot, constitutional amendment, Florida, editorial