Hillsborough County School Board Chambers in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Photo via HillsboroughSch/Facebook

Our politics are polarized enough. Hell, there are even stark divisions between factions in the Democratic and Republican parties. Voters who care about school boards are smart enough to research when a candidate is an LGBTQ+-bashing, book-banning, Moms 4 Liberty blowhard.

Florida is also already a closed primary state and the auspice of keeping more people out of the voting process is cringe. Most importantly, these races—which Amendment 1 would change dramatically—are about students, not the hat on your head.

See the full language of Florida’s proposed Amendment 1 below.

No. 1 Constitutional Amendment
Article IX, Section 4 and Article XII

Partisan Election of Members of District School Boards
Proposing amendments to the State Constitution to require members of a district school board to be elected in a partisan election rather than a nonpartisan election and to specify that the amendment only applies to elections held on or after the November 2026 general election. However, partisan primary elections may occur before the 2026 general election for purposes of nominating political party candidates to that office for placement on the 2026 general election ballot.

See all of CL’s ballot recommendations on our 2024 general election landing page.

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This article appears in Oct 17-23, 2024.