Gabrielle Russon
The Florida Democratic Party (FDP) is backing Amendment 3 and Amendment 4, which would legalize recreational marijuana and protect abortion rights, respectively, in the Nov. 5 General Election.
The party is telling voters to reject the rest of the ballot initiatives in a new list of endorsements.
“With today’s vote, the Florida Democratic Party is proud to officially support the passage of Amendments 3 and 4,” said FDP Chair Nikki Fried in a statement after the State Executive Committee vote. “The State of Florida has interfered in the lives of our citizens for far too long, and Amendments 3 and 4 are a good first step towards restoring our rights and keeping the government out of our business.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis is speaking out in opposition to Amendment 3 and is being sued over using state resources to fight Amendment 4.
If Amendment 3 passes, Floridians 21 and up would no longer need medical authorization to use marijuana. The law change would also apply to the millions of tourists who are of age who visit the state.
Meanwhile, Amendment 4 would state that lawmakers cannot “prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” It would not nullify the Legislature’s ability to require parental notification when a minor seeks an abortion.
The FDP committee, which is responsible for supervising party affairs and setting policy positions for the party, urged voters to vote “no” on Amendments 1, 2, 5 and 6
Amendment 1 seeks to label the currently nonpartisan School Board races as partisan on the ballot starting in November 2026.
Amendment 2 would preserve the right to fish and hunt in the state constitution and would make it tougher for legislators to pass laws banning or restricting hunting or fishing.
Amendment 5 seeks to increase the homestead exemption for property taxes.
Amendment 6 would repeal public financing to pay for campaigns for Governor, Attorney General and other state Cabinet offices.
To pass, the amendments must clear at least 60% of the vote.
To get on the ballot, the constitutional amendments can be approved either by the Legislature or by citizens through a petition process.
13 comments
Stephen D
September 16, 2024 at 8:32 am
Without getting in the details of the amendments, if Democrats officially support Amendments 3 & 4, then voters should VOTE NO!. Everything Democrats touch turns to shit.
George
September 16, 2024 at 8:36 am
Thanks for the laugh.
FLPatriot
September 16, 2024 at 9:40 am
Go back and look at the economies under the past GOP presidents.
Cheesy Floridian
September 16, 2024 at 12:08 pm
I don’t think that is true. Take a good look at Florida right now, the home insurance, the cost of living, the increased HOA fees, the sneaky gov. tricks, etc etc…. its all the GOP
Josh Green
September 16, 2024 at 2:49 pm
Easily the dumbest thing i”ll read all week.
Lonnie Roberts
September 16, 2024 at 3:17 pm
You’re so funny 😁 😂 😀
Lonnie Roberts
September 16, 2024 at 3:17 pm
You’re so funny 😁 😂 😀
Jimmy The Greek
September 16, 2024 at 9:40 am
Yes on 2-5 No on 1 & 6.
Michael K
September 16, 2024 at 10:23 am
Only two of these proposed amendments result from the citizen initiative process. All others were placed by the partisan supermajority state legislature, which does not require the hard work of gathering citizens statewide to sign petitions or the scrutiny of extensive judicial review.
Only Amendments 3 and 4 went through the exhaustive citizen signature process – a process that the current governor is trying to subvert.
Amendments 3 and 4 have strong citizen support to legalize recreational marijuana use – and to enshrine the rights of women to make their own reproductive health decisions without government interference. Similar initiatives have succeeded in other states.
I will be voting YES on 3 and 4, and rejecting all other ammendments.
Cheesy Floridian
September 16, 2024 at 12:11 pm
I’m voting YES on 2, 3 and 4. Not sure about #5 and #6, I need to do more personal research on these. And we DO NOT need more partisan politics in elections. People should vote for people because they like what they stand for, not because of a party.
cassandra was right
September 16, 2024 at 1:22 pm
Vote for FREEDOM!
YES on 3
YES on 4
NO on the rest.
Josh Green
September 16, 2024 at 2:58 pm
No on Amendment 2 as well. And I say that as a huge fisherman.
I don’t like the way it’s worded. Sounds like it could be used to stop fisheries management from imposing limits, seasons, protecting certain species, etc.
Fishing regulations exist for a reason, to protect the fishery and ensure it’s future.
MarvinM
September 16, 2024 at 5:38 pm
YES on 3
YES on 4
NO on all the rest.
If you champion what 1, 2, 5 and/or 6 are about, you are free to encourage your state representatives to write and pass legislation to accomplish the same goal. One wonders why they didn’t do that in the first place, rather than basically hijack the amendment process. They have several avenues of power; us, the people, have only one, and that was the one used for Amendments 3 and 4, true citizen-led initiatives.