Are Coral Gables elections moving to November? See how residents voted
The votes are in for Coral Gables’ first-ever vote-by-mail-only election, where eight referendums were up for consideration.
One of the most important referendums on the ballot — asking voters whether city elections should be moved from April in odd-numbered years to November of even years, to align with state and national elections — passed with just over 66% of the vote, according to preliminary election night results.
It’s a major win for Mayor Vince Lago, Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and Commissioner Richard Lara, who have advocated for the change. The three voted last year to move elections to November before agreeing with Commissioners Melissa Castro and Ariel Fernandez that it was best to let voters make the decision after a judge struck down the city of Miami’s own efforts to move elections by a commission vote.
“Today, our community spoke clearly, and that is what democracy is all about,” Lago, who spearheaded many of the referendums on the ballot, told the Miami Herald in a statement. His term will be shortened five months by the election date change. “The approval of these measures, particularly moving our elections to November, reflects a shared commitment to strengthening participation and ensuring that more voices are heard when we choose our city’s leadership.”
Five out of the seven other referendums also passed, including measures requiring commissioners to seek voter approval for raises and bringing on an inspector general.
More than 8,500 ballots were cast in the election in Coral Gables, a city with 30,342 registered voters. That’s about 28% turnout.
Here are the results:
Referendum 1: Moving elections to November
PASSED: The majority of voters want to move elections to even years, meaning the next city election will be held later this year, in November.
That will reduce the terms of the mayor, vice mayor and commissioners by a few months. Elected officials whose terms were on track to expire in April 2027 and April 2029 will instead have their terms expire in late 2026 and late 2028, according to the city. The candidate qualifying periods will also change.
Lago, Anderson and Lara had pushed for the change to even-year elections, saying it would save the city thousands in election-related costs and increase voter turnout.
Referendum 2: Future changes to election dates
PASSED: Voters want the city’s charter, the governing document of the Gables, to reflect that commissioners cannot change the date of elections through a vote of the commission — and that election date changes should always require voter approval.
Referendum 3: Allowing commissioners to remove an appointed board member
FAILED: The majority of voters prefer to continue requiring a majority vote of the City Commission to remove members appointed to one of the city’s many advisory boards.
Referendum 4: Charter Review Committee
PASSED: Voters want to update the city’s charter to reflect a change that was made last year by a commission vote to increase the city’s Charter Review Committee from five to seven members. The referendum also requires the committee to meet every 10 years beginning in 2035. Future commissions will now need voter approval to change those requirements.
The Charter Review Committee has historically convened to seek resident input and give recommendations on which proposed amendments to the city’s charter — the document that governs the city — should be put in front of voters. Commissioners are not required to follow the recommendations.
Referendum 5: Inspector general services
PASSED: The majority of voters want the city to contract with the county or a private entity to provide inspector general services as needed. Inspector general offices are independent bodies that investigate potential fraud, mismanagement and abuse of power.
Referendum 6: Changes to commissioner salaries
PASSED: The majority of voters agreed that commissioners must always seek voter approval for any raises that go beyond the annual cost-of-living increase.
Referendum 7: Eliminating runoff elections
FAILED: Voters want the city to continue hosting runoff races as needed. Now that city elections will be in November of even years, runoff elections will be held in early December of even years, as needed. However, no early voting sites will be available.
Referendum 8: Changes to the general fund reserve
PASSED: Voters have reaffirmed what commissioners already passed and adopted earlier this year: that the city will be required to maintain a “minimum General Fund reserve equal to 25 percent of the sum of the City’s total operating expense and debt service budget” and would need four out of five commissioners to approve spending the savings and to make changes to the existing general reserve fund policy, according to city spokeswoman Martha Pantin. The city can still dip into the funds for emergency situations.
This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 7:28 PM.
