3 Democrats compete to be Miami-Dade’s first voter-chosen Supervisor of Elections

Images via the candidates.

For the first time since Miami-Dade adopted its Home Rule Charter in 1957, voters will choose the county’s Supervisor of Elections (SOE) rather than see the post filled by appointment.

Three Democrats are competing for the job: political consultant Willis Howard, ethics and elections lawyer Juan-Carlos “J.C.” Planas and digital media entrepreneur Arnie Weiss.

In terms of public service, elections law knowledge, funding and in-party support, Planas is the clear front-runner.

The 54-year-old former prosecutor and St. Thomas University College of Law professor represented Miami-Dade as a Republican in the Florida House from 2002 to 2010. He switched to the Democratic Party after the first impeachment of Donald Trump, citing the ex-President’s attacks on voting rights and lies that the 2020 election was stolen.

Planas even has a major Florida court ruling named after him: Planas v. Planas, which saw him successfully removed his cousin, Juan E. “J.P.” Planas, from the 2006 ballot after it was found that the cousin had not previously used the nickname and was doing so to confuse voters.

If elected, Planas plans to upgrade the county’s elections website, ramp up voter registration efforts and possibly use QR codes to track mail-in ballots.

Since filing to run last July, Planas has raised more than $105,000, including a $10,000 self-loan, and spent close to $81,000 through early August on various campaign advertising, voter outreach and upkeep expenses.

An unaffiliated political committee supporting his campaign called Friends of JC Planas has raised $500,000 from a single source, mortgage loan originator Eduardo Fernandez, but has only spent $14,000 so far on digital ads.

Roughly a dozen local leaders have endorsed Planas, along with Senate Democratic Leader-designate Jason Pizzo, Homestead Democratic Rep. Kevin Chambliss and advocacy organizations like SAVE Action PAC, SEIU Florida and SEIU Local 1991.

Not-so-flatteringly, Planas holds the distinction of being the first person in the history of the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust to be fined for filing a frivolous complaint, a penalty stemming from his work for former state Representative and Miami Beach Mayor candidate Mike Grieco, who is now under a one-year Florida Bar suspension for campaign finance violations.

Planas is appealing the decision.

Weiss, 55, is in a distant second place in fundraising with $70,500 added to his campaign coffers since launching his campaign in late May, most of it his money. But he’s also been the most active spender in the race, using all but $4,300 of his war chest by Aug. 2, much of it on advertising.

Weiss believes he’d bring a much-needed perspective to the SOE job, having twice taken on the county about election matters. The first instance was over the use of touch-screen voting machines in 2004, when he sued Miami-Dade to require a paper record of ballots and better accommodations for older voters who have trouble using the technology.

More recently, he aired a grievance with the Elections Department after it notified him he was at risk of removal from its voter rolls for inactivity, an issue the Florida Democratic Party has been sounding the alarm about following the passage of new election laws.

Weiss vows, if elected, to create a “detailed technical product and project roadmap” for the Department to make voting more accessible. It includes allowing voters to cast ballots at every precinct on Election Day, the same as is allowed during early voting, and updating the Department’s technology to improve processing and security. He also wants to use text and email messages to notify residents facing voter roll removal.

Howard, 50, is a well-established political player who worked for many North Miami Beach officials and as the strategic consultant for former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum’s gubernatorial campaign in 2018.

Of nearly $67,000 he raised between April 2023 and July 2024, more than two-thirds came from his bank account. He spent $27,000 on print and digital advertising.

If voters pick him, Willis said, he’ll work to make the Department more transparent, better fund its communications department and open more offices.

In what some interpreted as a swipe at Planas before he’d officially entered the Primary fray, Howard described himself as a “tried-and-true Democrat” who has “never switched” political parties.

This month, Political Cortadito flagged flyers Howard sent out featuring a misleading slate card that told voters to cast ballots for Miami-Dade Commissioner Rob Gonzalez and School Board member Mary Blanco, both Republicans appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Howard said he’d included them, along with recommendations to vote for Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey for Congress and himself for SEO, to “help (his) community out” by sharing “the best people to vote for.”

The winner of the three-way Democratic Primary will face Miami Rep. Alina García for the right to succeed SEO Christina White, who confirmed in June that she would not run this year to keep the job to which she was appointed in 2015.

A seasoned Republican political operative who is leaving the Legislature after just one term, García raised more than $433,000 through early August and carries an endorsement from Trump.

In 1957, Miami-Dade voters abolished several constitutional officers — including SOE, Tax Collector and Property Appraiser — through the adoption of the county’s Home Rule Charter. The charter delegated those offices’ powers to Miami-Dade’s top executive official, now the county Mayor, who has appointed people to those posts.

But in 2018, Florida voters — including 58% of Miami-Dade voters — approved a constitutional amendment requiring every county in the state to elect those officers, as well as a Sheriff, by Jan. 7, 2025.

The Primary is on Aug. 20, followed by the General Election on Nov. 5