City of Miami commissioners have voted to cancel the city’s November election and delay it until 2026.
In a 3-2 vote, the measure gives commissioners and the city’s mayor an extra year in office before they have to face voters.
“A few folks were saying that we were canceling an election. We are not canceling an election. There is a 2025 election that is happening that will contain ballot initiatives, but the elected officials move to 2026,” said Commissioner Damian Pardo, who introduced and voted in favor of the measure.
The city will now have even-year elections, instead of odd-year.
“We know that there is voter support for this. On the campaign, people are constantly asking me about this. The polling indicates that there is broad support even with the additional year issue,” said Pardo.
It is a change that, supporters said, is meant to increase voter turnout. However, critics question whether the date change is constitutional without voter approval.
But before the controversial vote, Florida State Attorney General James Uthmeier warned in a written memo that the city could not move the date without voter approval in a ballot referendum.
He wrote in part: “Attempting to effect this change by a simple vote by the Miami City Commission alone would clearly circumvent the terms of the County Charter and would therefore be invalid…If you nevertheless move forward with the proposed ordinance, my office reserves the right to consider taking all available actions to prevent this violation of law from occurring.”
Commissioner Joe Carollo didn’t support the measure, even though he would benefit from it if it remains valid.
“I voted against it because, first of all, I believe what the attorney general of Florida stated that it’s illegal, but even if it wasn’t, it’s morally wrong,” he said.
He added the issue should be given to voters, not voted on by commissioners.
“The voters voted for all of us for four years, not five. If they wanted to make a change, they should’ve brought it up to the voters,” said Carollo.
The change takes effect immediately, but Carollo tells 7News he expects the measure to be challenged in court.
It remains unclear how Uthmeier will respond to the measure, but Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote in a social media post on Thursday that he anticipates “swift, legal action” when this “scheme” is enacted.