TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Arguing that Floridians are improperly being asked to vote on ballot measures that patch together unrelated issues, a legal challenge filed Tuesday at the state Supreme Court seeks to scuttle six proposed constitutional amendments.
The plaintiffs, including former Supreme Court Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead, take aim at proposed amendments that the Florida Constitution Revision Commission placed on the November ballot.
Recommended Videos
While individual amendments also face lawsuits, the petition filed at the Supreme Court targets six of the eight measures approved by the commission this spring.
The case centers on decisions by the commission to lump together multiple issues into single ballot proposals.
Prior to voting in April, Commissioner Roberto Martinez was one of several CRC members who unsuccessfully tried to stop the grouping of proposals.
“By bundling different proposals together, what we have done is undermine the work that we have undertaken to make sure that each one of the ballot summaries is clear and fairly informs the voters," Martinez said.
For example, one of the measures included in the challenge asks voters to approve a ban on offshore oil drilling and a ban on vaping and the use of electronic cigarettes in workplaces.
Another proposed amendment bundles term limits for school board members with civic literacy and charter school oversight.