Florida election re-cap

The midterm elections are over, and Florida voted on several major things, including governor and three controversial amendments.

The Republican candidate for governor, incumbent Rick Scott, has been reelected Governor, despite running in one of the most expensive and negative gubernatorial races Florida can remember. USA Today reports that the two candidates spent over 93 million dollars on television advertisements alone, many of them attack ads. The election was very close; Charlie Crist received 47.1 percent of the votes, and Rick Scott received 48.2 percent.

There were also three controversial and confusing amendments on the ballot. Each needed 60 percent of the vote to pass.

The first amendment passed. This amendment had to do with conservation of land in Florida.  The Herald Tribune reports that the passage of this amendment will allow billions of dollars of real estate taxes to be dedicated to land and water preservation. It will also allow for a percentage of certain tax revenue and to be put into a Land Acquisition Trust Fund.

The second amendment was one of the most talked about, but it failed to pass. Amendment Two would have allowed medical marijuana in Florida. As Orlando Sentinel reports, the vote was very close: 57 percent voted to pass the amendment—3 percent shy of necessary 60 percent. Despite the amendment’s failure to pass, advocates for medical marijuana are already looking at rewording the bill and trying to pass it in another election.

The third amendment also did not pass. As explained by WTSP News, this amendment regarded whether or not the governor leaving office or the one taking office would fill three expected empty seats on the state Supreme Court.  The seats would be vacated on the same day the governor leaves office. Since the amendment failed, the incoming governor will continue to pick the new justices.

For students who are able to vote but did not this election, Rollins has a resource, called TurboVote, which helps students to register to vote.  It will also give reminders about upcoming elections and can make absentee voting easier.