The November election in Florida will include 6 proposed amendments to the Florida State Constitution. They only pass if at least 60% of voters vote YES. Here are some brief takes from an economic perspective.

Amendment 1: Partisan Election of Members of District School Boards

Currently, school district boards are locally elected and they do not have a party affiliation listed on the ballot. If passed, the amendment would permit party affiliation to be on the ballot. Partisan primaries would also be introduced, reducing the number of candidates in the general elections. The argument in favor is that party affiliation itself communicates information to voters. Removing that information forces voters to abstain, vote randomly, or to vote based on other information.

An argument against is that, in Florida, only registered party members may vote in primaries. If passed, parties will endorse particular candidates according to the primary results, winnowing the field. I happen to live in a county with an overwhelming republican majority, so the party-endorsed candidate will probably win. The outcome will be that the median republican primary-voter will choose the winning candidate in the primary rather than the median voter during the election. Voting “YES” aggregates information from a smaller set of voters.

I’ll vote NO.

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