Drew Wilson
Voters in Florida’s largest county are in favor of a constitutional amendment to require county constitutional officers be elected, a new poll found.
The poll, commissioned by Constitutional Officer Resource Experts (C.O.R.E.), found more than three quarters of likely voters in Miami-Dade County were in favor of electing constitutional officers such as county sheriffs or property appraisers, while just 10 percent were opposed.
An earlier statewide poll, conducted in March, found 86 percent of voters were in support, with 6 percent opposed.
The proposal is currently under consideration by the Constitution Revision Commission as Proposal 6005. It was originally contained in Proposal 13.
“From day one, the Sheriffs of Florida have made this work a priority, because we know how important Proposal 6005 is to the citizens we serve,” said Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson, president of the Florida Sheriffs Association.
“This new poll shows clear and overwhelming support, especially in Miami-Dade, where voters have not been allowed to elect a sheriff in more than two generations.”
FSA is joined by groups representing tax collectors, clerks of the court and property appraisers. The measure would require those offices, as well as county supervisors of election, be chose by election. It would also block counties from abolishing those offices, altering their term lengths or getting rid of elections for those positions.
“Proposal 6005 is a return to the foundational fabric of our state and ensures all of our constitutional officers are held accountable by the voters,” said Franklin County Clerk of Court Marcia Johnson, president of the Florida Court Clerk and Comptrollers.
“Your local Clerk’s office performs more than 1,000 different constitutional and statutory functions or duties, so it is important to retain the independent role of Florida’s constitutional officers. Without this independence, there is opportunity for complicity and corruption at the local level.”
The Miami-Dade poll was conducted via robocalls conducted March 17-19 and April 14 and 15. It received responses from 118 Miami-Dade voters. The statewide poll was conducted from March 17 through March 19 and was completed by 868 voters.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percent with a 95 percent confidence level. The results are weighted to proportions of 2014 voter turnout in regard to age, race, gender and county commission district.
