Miami election results: What did voters decide on lifetime term limits and more?
Miami voters took to the polls Tuesday to weigh in on four ballot referendums: one seeking to change the rules for selling city-owned land, another to tighten term limits for elected officials, a third to create a redistricting oversight body, and another to establish a committee that would regularly review the document that functions as the city’s constitution.
Here’s how voters decided on the proposed charter amendments.
1. Establishing a Charter Review Commission: PASS
Voters approved a proposal to create a Charter Review Commission that will be tasked with conducting a “comprehensive review” of the city charter at least every 10 years.
The change, sponsored by Commissioner Ralph Rosado, requires city commissioners, the mayor and the city manager to appoint members to the Charter Review Commission within one year of the federal census.
The Charter Review Commission will hold public hearings to solicit resident input. Within 12 months of its first meeting, the group must issue recommendations to the City Commission, which will decide whether to send the proposed charter changes to voters in the form of a ballot referendum.
2. Loosening requirements for selling city-owned land: FAIL
Miamians voted down a charter amendment that City Manager Art Noriega’s administration pushed for, arguing the change would have made it easier for the city to sell non-waterfront property.
Under the current rules, the city needs to receive three bids in order to sell non-waterfront land valued over $500,000. If the city fails to get enough bids, it needs voter approval to proceed with the land sale.
The change would have scaled back the requirements so that the five-member City Commission could have approved the sale of city land through a four-fifths vote when the city fails to get at least three bids after publicly advertising the property.
3. Strengthening the redistricting process: PASS
Voters approved a referendum that amends the city charter to prohibit gerrymandering while also establishing a citizens’ redistricting committee that will draft maps and propose them to the City Commission in future redistricting processes.
The referendum closes the loop on a racial gerrymandering lawsuit brought against the city by residents and community groups in 2022. Last year, a federal judge threw out Miami’s voting map after ruling that the city had approved unconstitutional and racially gerrymandered districts.
4. Creating lifetime term limits: PASS
Miami voters approved lifetime term limits for elected officials, restricting them to two terms as mayor and two terms as commissioner for their entire lifetime.
Under the previous rules, elected officials in Miami were limited to two consecutive terms in each position, but they could run for the same seat again after sitting out a term. Those rules allowed legacy politicians who have cycled through City Hall since the 1970s and 1980s to remain active today.
Commissioner Damian Pardo, who sponsored the term limits proposal, said in a statement after the referendum passed that “tonight marks a historic moment for the City of Miami.”
“This marks a new chapter for Miami and resets the political landscape. It is rare for a government to limit its own power, but Miami has done exactly that,” Pardo said. “Lifetime Term Limits is just the start. Miami is in reform mode, and on the verge of something truly transformative — where transparency, collaboration, accountability, and community-driven leadership become the new standard.”
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 8:05 PM.
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