There’s a primary in the Keys March 17. Here’s what you need to know
The Florida primary is March 17, and for Keys residents, their ballot will contain more than just the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates.
All voters, no matter party, will be asked to approve a measure allowing the Monroe County School District to move 50 cents of every $1,000 in assessed property value from the building fund to the operations fund, which pays for teachers’ salaries, school medical staff and other classroom needs.
Proponents of the “Flexible Funding” plan, which has been approved the past five times the district has requested voters to do so, say it ensures the Keys has the highest starting teacher pay in the state. The tax initiative must be put up for a vote every four years.
Early voting began in the Keys March 2 and ends March 15. According to the latest available numbers from the county Supervisor of Elections, 2,010 voted early at polling places, and 6,170 people cast ballots by mail.
Monroe County, which has a population between 70,000 and 80,000 people, has 53,510 registered voters. Of those, 21,283 are Republicans and 17,786 are registered Democrats. The other 14,441 people are either registered to another party are have no party affiliation.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported there is a Key West ballot initiative and a Marathon city council vote in the primary.
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 2:16 PM.
