As Osceola County approaches the 2024 election, early voting is open from October 21 – November 3, with election day coming up just around the corner on November 5, 2024 (7 AM – 7 PM). Aside from office elections on the Florida ballot, Osceola voters will also be granted the opportunity to vote on proposed amendments.
Amendment 1 proposes to change the election process for members of district school boards to a partisan basis. This shift means that, starting after the November 26 general election, school board members will be elected with party affiliation, mirroring the political candidates’ primary and general election process. Currently, school board members are elected without any party designation, and cannot run under a political party.
Another important measure on the ballot is Amendment 2, which seeks to modify the existing management of hunting and fishing in Florida. While the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is in charge of issuing these licenses today, the amendment would make it a state constitutional right to “forever” hunt or fish- making it harder for legislators to create laws that would ban or restrict such activities in the future.
Amendment 3 allows adults aged 21 and older to possess, purchase, or use marijuana for non-medical purposes. It also allows medical marijuana treatment centers to cultivate, manufacture, and sell marijuana products. Right now, the current marijuana law for the state only allows for its consumption and sale for medical purposes.
Additionally, Amendment 4 addresses abortion rights, aiming to limit government interference in access to abortion services. This amendment would prohibit any laws that restrict abortion before viability or that are necessary to protect the health of the patient. If passed, it would overrule Florida’s six-week abortion ban and replace it with legalized abortions up until “fetal viability or to protect a patient’s health”.
In Florida, homestead exemption gives homeowners two $25,000 exemptions that exempts a total of $50,000 off the taxable value of a home, and automatically raises taxes as property values rise with inflation. Amendment 5 proposes annual adjustments to the “value of certain homestead exemptions”. It would basically create an inflation adjustment for the second of those two exemptions (which does not affect taxes that pay for schools). The measure would index assessments based on the percent change in the Consumer Price Index.
Finally, the repeal of public campaign financing requirement is addressed by Amendment 6. There is essentially a subsidy through the use of public money for some candidates running for specific positions, such as governor and other state cabinet positions, and there is a cap on how much of that money they can use. Amendment 6 would repeal those candidates’ ability to use public dollars to fund their campaign, which would mean they’d have to seek private funding through other means/donors.
Osceola County is also seeking voter approval for to continue the land conservation referendum for the next 20 years. This measure requests permission to issue up to $70 million in bonds to fund the Environmental Lands Conservation Program. The county referendum program has already successfully acquired over 3,300 acres of land for environmental protection, including vital water resources and wildlife habitats such as Shingle Creek Regional Park. The ballot also mentions that the county would pay back the bonds using a portion of the annual ad valorem tax.
Do your research and vote wisely, because your vote is your voice.
