(11-12-2019, 10:32 AM)mikesez Wrote:

(11-12-2019, 08:47 AM)Last42min Wrote: You know there's a problem when Florida puts 12 amendments up for vote, and 11 out of 12 pass. Oddly enough, the only one that didn't is the one that would have saved the tax payers money and cost local governments money. People are sheep.

To be fair, the average citizen shouldn't know much about politics. It's hard to be a good parent, worker, spouse, etc and know all of what's going on in government, too. This wasn't a problem when there were more media sources, but now that major companies own 93% of the media, it's hard to get alternate information. We need to be able to trust our media.

Amendment 1 increased the homestead exemption for everyone. 
Most cities and counties would adjust their millage rates up to avoid budget cuts.  Some homeowners pay more, some pay less, all commercial owners pay more.
But it would have also diverted extra state funds to "financially constrained" rural counties.  But with Amendment 5, the state couldn't raise taxes unless they got a 2/3 vote to do so.  So the state would have to provide that rural subsidy by cutting existing spending.
Amendment 1 would have created far more losers than winners.  
Why did you want it to pass? Do you own a homestead in a rural county?

That said, I agree with you that there is very little state level media explaining these amendments.  

In Orange County, in 2016, we passed a county charter amendment by about 300,000 votes to 150,000 votes.  
Then in 2018, we passed a state amendment to cancel the charter amendment, 270,000 to 180,000.  Almost identical vote totals.  Probably the same people voting each time. Hardly any undervotes.  Just looks like about 120,000 just vote "yes" to everything without understanding it.  Those people probably behave the same way even if the media tries to explain the amendments.  They either don't care, or can't understand. But voting "yes" makes them feel good.

Put your cats away, dude. I have no interest in a debate about Amendment 1. The point was that 11 of 12 amendments passed, except the one that would cost counties money. I suspect a disproportionate amount of coverage for the latter, but don't even know where to begin researching that. Even if we exclude the aforementioned amendment, it's completely improbably that informed, partisan citizens approve 11 out of 12 amendments. It is far more likely that people tend to vote yes when they are unsure (even though I would have thought the opposite is more intuitive), or they vote for the position that gets the most coverage. I would imagine the same people with the power to put it on the ballot have the money to push that position. Either way, people aren't informed, and there is very little interest from the powers that be to change that.

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