Florida

Florida joined the mid-decade wave: a special session passed the governor's map April 29, signed May 4, projected 24–4. The courts declined to block it — May 26 in circuit court, June 10 at the state Supreme Court — so November runs on lines that did not exist in April, with Fair Districts claims still alive.

When every candidate for an office is from one party, the constitution opens that primary to all voters — unless a write-in files for the general. A free, petition-less write-in filing re-closes the contest, and the loophole has been worked for decades. Who may vote in a race is manipulable, race by race.

Every county's elections chief is an elected, partisan Supervisor of Elections — not a clerk, not a board — with a canvassing board of the supervisor, a county judge, and the commission chair. The state's chief election officer, meanwhile, is appointed. The administrator is on the ballot they administer, one cycle removed.

Amendment 10 ended charter counties' power to appoint away the five constitutional officers. Miami-Dade elected its first sheriff since 1966 in November 2024; Broward elected its first tax collector ever. The phase-in split: most counties converted in 2020, Miami-Dade and Broward in 2024 — office history varies by county and by year.

Constitutional amendments need 60% — a supermajority that defeated abortion-rights and marijuana measures in 2024 despite clear majorities. Three legislative referrals face that bar this November, and no citizen initiative qualified at all under the tightened 2025 petition law.

School boards and trial judges run nonpartisan on the August primary ballot — a majority wins outright, and only the shortfalls go to a November top-two. Meanwhile constitutional officers, odd commission districts, and superintendents all ride the presidential cycle, and gubernatorial running mates aren't even named until nine days after the primary.

A vote-by-mail request now expires after each general election — the standing list rebuilds from zero every cycle. But the count itself is the nation's fastest by statute: ballots pre-canvass weeks early, and counties must report early and mail votes within 30 minutes of poll close, then update every 45.

1,095 community development districts elect boards where the initial franchise is one vote per acre — landowners, which usually means the developer. Boards convert to resident election only after 250 qualified electors and six years. And one famous district — Disney's former Reedy Creek — is now state-appointed entirely.