Amendment 3, open primaries: A radical change to constitution would change Florida voting forever

Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE

CHECK OUT WeThePeople.store for best SWAG!

These are the opinions of BizPac, the political action committee, which is a separate legal entity and not the opinions of BizPacReview, Inc.

The Business Political Action Committee of Palm Beach County (BIZPAC) opposes Amendment 3 on Florida’s November ballot. Here’s why:

Amendment 3

The amendment would allow all registered voters to vote in primaries for state legislature, governor and cabinet, regardless of political party affiliation. All candidates for an office, including candidates nominated by political parties, would appear on the same primary ballot. The two highest vote-getters advance to the General Election. If the Amendment passes, it would become effective Jan. 1, 2024.

This amendment will be harmful for the interests of the statewide business community, and the two major political parties.

Here are the important points to know about the amendment:

· Currently, in Florida, primaries are “closed”, meaning a voter must be registered with a political party in order to participate in that party’s primary election. The winners of a partisan primary election advance to the General. This allows each political party to determine for themselves who may participate in their Primary Elections.

· California and Washington were the first states to adopt a “top-two” primary system.

· All Voters Vote, Inc. is the political committee leading the campaign to support Amendment 3. A guy named Miguel Fernandez, the founder of the Immigration Partnership and Coalition Fund, is the largest donor.

· Opponents of Amendment 3 include the Democratic and Republican Parties of Florida, the Florida Chamber, and the Florida Legislative Black Caucus.

· The Republican Party said, “The proposed amendment would abolish party primary elections…and replace them with free-for-all ‘jungle primaries’”.

· The Democratic Party said the amendment “purports to create a constitutional system where ‘all voters vote’…[but] it goes a step too far by also eliminating primary elections with only two candidates. The creation of non-partisan blanket primaries is not logically related to the elimination of primary elections in other circumstances”.

· The Black Caucus is blasting the amendment because they say it would dilute minority political clout.

· A “no” vote would leave in place Florida’s current system where closed primaries are held by each party. The Republicans (only) get to choose their party’s candidates and the Democrats (only) get to choose their candidates.

Here are the reasons why BIZPAC opposes this amendment:

1. Florida doesn’t need a huge change in our voting system. Our elections are known for being fair and competitive, and it gives voters many choices in when and how to vote. The change is not needed.

2. The Florida Constitution is a revered document that should not be changed yearly. Amendment 3 re-writes our Constitution to completely change our elections, undoing a system that has worked fairly for years.

3. This amendment is costly, makes elections more expensive and will make us vote like they do in California. The Financial Impact Estimating Conference reports that this amendment will cost local governments more than $16 million per election.

4. Political progressives are trying to trick voters into changing our constitution and how we vote.

5. Unfairly, voters with no Party affiliation would help determine each political party’s nominee.

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!