Two Florida counties are asking a court to throw an amendment off the November ballot that asks voters around the state to overrule decisions made by their local voters on which of their officials should be elected. In separate lawsuits filed this month in Leon County Circuit Court, Broward and Volusia counties are asking the court to invalidate Amendment 10, the proposal placed on the November ballot by the Republican-controlled Constitution Revision Commission. The two counties argue that the proposal unconstitutionally misleads voters because it fails to explain that if approved, voters in Broward and Volusia counties would be stripped of their right to govern themselves.
The amendment rolls together several ideas, the most controversial of which would overrule county charters and require Broward to elect a tax collector, Miami-Dade to elect a sheriff to replace its appointed law enforcement officer, and force Volusia County to reverse a decision voters made in 1970 to appoint its county officers. Miami-Dade County has not joined the lawsuit.
“The ballot title and summary for Amendment 10 are misleading, inaccurate, and fail to fairly inform voters of the true effect and impact of the proposed amendment,” wrote lawyers for Broward County in a lawsuit filed Friday.
“The ballot title and summary for revision 10 are ambiguous and unclear; and do not fairly inform the voter of the scope of the revision,” wrote lawyers for Volusia County in a lawsuit filed June 7.
Full Article: Counties sue to remove amendments from Florida’s November ballot | Tampa Bay Times.