Voters approved four new amendments to the Florida Constitution including one that raises the minimum wage.
Amendment 2 would raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour at the end of September 2021 and then increase it by a dollar each year until it reaches $15 an hour. With 60 percent needed to pass, the proposal just made it with 60.8 percent support with 99 percent of the vote in.
Amendment 3 would reform statewide elections by letting voters cast their ballots in an open primary regardless of political party affiliation. If no candidate gets a majority of votes in the primary, the two candidates with the most votes would then compete against each other in the general election. The proposal came up just short with 57 percent support with 99 percent of the vote in.
With 99 percent of the vote in, Amendment 1 which would double down on the requirement of being a citizen to vote in the state easily passed with 79 percent support. Amendment 5, extending transfer benefits on new homestead property from two years to three years, passed with almost 75 percent support. Amendment 6, extending a property tax discount for combat-wounded veterans to surviving spouses, garnered almost 90 percent support.
One proposal failed to garner a simple majority. Amendment 4 which would have raised the standard on state constitutional amendments by having them pass two general elections before being included in the Florida Constitution, had less than 50 percent support.
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