The ballot in November's election will be historic for a few reasons, mainly because it’s going to be historically long.
Florida’s Constitution Revision Commission meets once every 20 years. Broward County’s Charter Review Commission, or CRC, meets every 12. Both put out a series of resolutions for voters to decide on.
This year, the two commissions overlap. That means Broward County residents will see at least 24 questions on the November ballot.
Carlos Verney, the Executive Director for the Broward CRC, said voters shouldn’t waste the opportunity to approve or vote down big changes.“They’re delicate questions with real consequences...they have the opportunity to really create some change,” Verney said.
Eleven of the questions come from the county level, eight from the state, three directly from the legislature, and two from citizen petition.
Among the 11 questions from Broward’s CRC, voters will decide whether a county trust fund will be created for affordable housing and whether changes will be made to the redistricting process.
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The Broward CRC wants voters to start reading up on questions now - more could still be added in the coming weeks. And cities can still add their own resolutions to the ballot, too.
“Some cities may vary, so we want everyone to be aware that this number is going to grow depending on where they live,” said Niki Donner, the Broward CRC’s assistant executive director. “It’s not to scare them, but simply help them.”
At the May 8 county commission meeting, the county auditor put together a report on the expected costs of the 11 county-level resolutions. Only one resolution, changes to the redistricting process, would come at a cost. That resolution is expected to have a price tag of $85,000 if voters approve the new process.
The Broward CRC is launching a voter education initiative to help get the draft of the questions to voters this summer. You can find out more about the CRC process, and read the county's existing charter here.
The master document of the 11 county questions, approved by county commissioners this month, is below.
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