constitutional amendment

The three-judge panel overturned a circuit court's ruling on inactive voters and upheld a ruling on petitions gathered by nonresidents, with the net effect of invalidating more than 70,000 signatures.

The committee behind the proposed constititional amendment filed a lawsuit asking a judge to order Secretary of State Cord Byrd and his office to “comply with their statutory obligations.”

A judge’s split ruling on a ballot measure triggered appeals from both sides, as deadlines loom over disputed petition signatures from inactive voters and out-of-state gatherers.

In the latest battle over marijuana legalization, Smart & Safe Florida alleges in a lawsuit that Secretary of State Cord Byrd improperly directed county election supervisors to invalidate about 71,000 petitions.

The ruling wiped out roughly a third of the signatures submitted by the political committee backing the proposed constitutional amendment to allow recreational marijuana.

Elections officials sent the proposed constitutional amendment to the attorney general and advised Smart & Safe Florida that the measure was headed to the Florida Supreme Court for review.

Florida Decides Healthcare, which was trying to get the issue on the 2026 ballot, said the Legislature's new statute on ballot initiatives “deliberately undermined” its campaign.

The contributions during the first three months of 2025 went to the Smart & Safe Florida committee, which is gathering signatures to get a revised constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot.

The proposed constitutional amendment would require the Legislature by March 2027 to appoint a commissioner of government efficiency, who would serve until the office is up for election in 2028.

The revamped proposal from the Smart & Safe Florida committee seeks to address issues raised by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who led a drive to defeat last year’s constitutional measure.

Ken Griffin, CEO of the firm Citadel, in an opinion piece in the Miami Herald, calls the proposed amendment “a terrible plan to create the nation’s most expansive and destructive marijuana laws.”

The “financial impact statement” would be presented to voters with a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to ensure abortion rights.