Amendment 3: All Voters Vote in Primary Elections for State Legislature, Governor, and Cabinet
Also known as: The 鈥淛ungle Primary鈥� amendment, although the backers of the amendment say the term has racist connotations. It鈥檚 also been called a nonpartisan blanket primary, a qualifying primary or a top-two primary.
Ballot summary: Allows all registered voters to vote in primaries for state legislature, governor, and cabinet regardless of political party affiliation. All candidates for an office, including party nominated candidates, appear on the same primary ballot. Two highest vote getters advance to the general election. If only two candidates qualify, no primary is held and the winner is determined in the general election. Candidate鈥檚 party affiliation may appear on the ballot as provided by law. Effective January 1, 2024.
Florida currently has a closed primary system. That means to vote in a primary election to nominate, for example, the Democratic party鈥檚 candidate for Attorney General, you must be registered as a Democrat in Florida. But in this example, only a registered Democrat can vote in this primary 鈥� Republicans can鈥檛 cast votes in the Democrats鈥檖rimary. But just as importantly, people registered with no political party can鈥檛 cast a ballot in a party primary.
Sponsors of the amendment say that system is inherently unfair, and leads to candidates from both parties becoming more extreme to appeal to the smaller base of voters who actually cast ballots in the primary. Florida鈥檚 closed primary system can shut out the 3.6 million Florida voters not registered with a major party. Candidates sometimes game the system to close an election off as well, particularly in districts that aren鈥檛 competitive between Democrats and Republicans.
If three or more candidates qualify for an elected office, all candidates would appear on the primary ballot together. Any registered voter can cast a ballot for any candidate 鈥� regardless of political party. Candidates would be allowed to have which political party they are affiliated with on the ballot as well. The two candidates with the most votes would then face off in the general election.
Currently, only thirteen states and Washington D.C. have closed primaries like Florida. But just three other states (California, Washington state and Louisiana) have a top-two primary system. The majority of states have semi-open or semi-closed primaries, where people registered as independents can vote in any party鈥檚 primary, or voters can switch parties on election day, or where voters request which party鈥檚 ballot they want.
Yes. Nothing in the amendment would block two candidates from the same political party from appearing in the general election together. In the states with a top-two primary, this has happened, but it鈥檚 rare that usually happens when a party puts too many candidates in a primary and splits the vote. In Washington State鈥檚 2016 election for state treasurer, five candidates were vying for an open seat. That .
South Florida Billionaire Miguel 鈥淢ike鈥� Fernandez is the primary financier of this constitutional amendment. Fernandez said his experiences fleeing Cuba as a child and coming to the U.S. as a refugee showed him what happens when political extremes take power.
When Trump won the Republican party鈥檚 nomination, Fernandez left the party and became an independent. That鈥檚 when he discovered how Florida鈥檚 primary system can shut out independent voters
鈥淚 went to vote in the last primaries, only to find out that if I was not a registered Republican nor Democrat, I was not allowed to vote in primaries, I could only vote in the general election.鈥�
Fernandez founded All Voters Vote Inc., which raised more than $7 million dollars to get the amendment on the ballot, with most of the money coming directly from Fernandez or related entities.
In a rare moment of bipartisanship, both the Republican Party of Florida and the Democratic Party of Florida unsuccessfully asked the Florida Supreme Court to block the amendment from the ballot. The parties argue that a top-two primary system doesn鈥檛 open a party鈥檚 primary, it eliminates it.
鈥淚nstead, the ballot title and summary 鈥� conceal and mislead as to the proposed amendment鈥檚 chief purpose: abolishing Florida鈥檚 longstanding party primary elections,鈥� the 鈥淭he proposal in fact eliminates party primary elections for certain offices, while repurposing the constitutional term 鈥榩rimary election鈥� to refer to an entirely different process for narrowing the field of candidates for these offices in the general election: a Top-Two 鈥楯ungle Primary.鈥欌��
Several groups have run an analysis on the impact of Amendment 3 on minority representation in Florida鈥檚 cabinet and Legislature.
People Over Profits, a political election committee run by former Democratic Florida Attorney General candidate Sean Shaw, examined the racial makeup of primary voters. That .
Shaw said he supports opening primaries to voters with no party affiliation.
鈥淎t the altar of moderation, I鈥檝e got to sacrifice African American electeds, Hispanic electeds, progressive electeds, and it鈥檚 more expensive? I鈥檓 not sure that鈥檚 a deal I鈥檓 willing to do and a deal worth doing,鈥� Shaw said.
The main argument for a top-two primary is it will lead to more moderate candidates. And more moderate candidates from both parties would mean a better chance that they can govern while working together.
Eric McGhee with the nonprofit, nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California has studied the effect of the top-two system in California. His research suggests California lawmakers did become more moderate after the top two went into effect in 2012.
But it wasn鈥檛 the cure for political polarization that the proponents in California pitched it as.
鈥淭he biggest knock on the top two is that it doesn鈥檛 seem to have had much of the effect that was imagined for it,鈥� McGhee said. 鈥淭he moderating effect is modest. It鈥檚 real, but it鈥檚 modest. And voters can sometimes produce some sort of crazy results.鈥�
It鈥檚 not clear if the amendment would favor one party over another, especially given that both parties are against the amendment.
In an interview with The State We鈥檙e In, Fernandez said he does not want to help or hurt either party.
鈥淟et me make something clear: I do not want to hurt either the Republican nor the Democratic Party,鈥� said Miguel 鈥淢ike鈥� Fernandez, the main backer of the amendment. 鈥淭his is not 鈥業 want to destroy either party.鈥� I just want to encourage both parties to talk to people that are more centrist. that are more moderate, that are more representative of who the rest of us are.鈥�
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This story is part of The State We鈥檙e In, an elections reporting initiative from WUSF and WMFE in Orlando. It鈥檚 produced in partnership with America Amplified, an initiative using community engagement to inform local journalism. It is supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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