Amendment 3 Property Tax Cut Is Falling Short in the Polls Days Before Florida Votes
Two polls put the property-tax amendment at 44 and 50 percent support — both well short of the 60 percent a Florida constitutional amendment needs to pass on Nov. 3.
Florida's Amendment 3, the proposed constitutional amendment to cut property taxes for homeowners, is running behind the number it has to hit. A St. Pete Polls survey released this week put the measure at 44 percent support, with 39 percent opposed and 17 percent unsure, and a University of North Florida poll released last week found 50 percent support. A constitutional amendment in Florida needs 60 percent to pass.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has spent the closing week campaigning for the measure, devoting much of a Crystal River appearance — held to announce $100 million for water restoration across 45 projects — to the case for Amendment 3. He has said that if it passes, he would work with the Legislature to create a fund that fiscally constrained and other bedroom communities could tap for critical needs such as hiring police officers if their revenue falls short.
The Republican Party of Florida has endorsed the amendment and the Florida Democratic Party opposes it, and the verdict now belongs to an electorate that is already voting in large numbers: more than 3.7 million Floridians had cast ballots by the middle of the week, according to the University of Florida Election Lab figures cited in the reporting. Early voting ends in most Florida counties this weekend ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
