Miami-Dade rejects nonpartisan elections for county posts, approves 2 charter changes

With most precincts reporting late Tuesday, the results showed Miami-Dade voters had rejected nonpartisan elections for sheriff and other county posts set to become elected offices by the end of 2024.

The question was part of a proposed charter amendment that would rely on Florida’s changing state law to allow nonpartisan elections for offices that fall under state jurisdiction. That includes three offices currently part of the county government run by Miami-Dade’s mayor: tax collector, elections supervisor and sheriff, though those powers are exercised by the county’s police director.

A 2018 change to Florida’s Constitution requires those offices be elected within four years. State law currently requires partisan elections for those posts. As of 9:50 p.m. Tuesday, the measure was failing by about 25,000 votes. The Democratic Party, which enjoys a sizable edge in county voter registration, opposed the measure.

Another proposed charter amendment that passed in a landslide will drop a requirement for a special election to fill vacancies for mayor and county commission if the incumbent resigns in advance to run for another office. The change will allow Miami-Dade to elect a successor while the incumbent remains in office until his or her resignation takes effect, as required by the state’s “resign to run” law.

A third charter amendment will add the county’s existing Office of the Inspector General to the charter itself. That would prevent future commissions from disbanding the office or altering its organizational framework without first going to the voters for another charter change. The amendment passed by a large margin.

This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 9:57 PM.