ORLANDO, Fla. – This week on “Politically Motivated‚” Christopher Heath and Lauren Melendez talked about recreational marijuana hurdles making it on the November ballot, former CNN Anchor Don Lemon’s high-profile arrest, and where the governor’s plan to axe property taxes stands in the legislature.
WEEDING OUT SIGNATURES
A proposed amendment to Florida’s constitution that would allow recreational marijuana use for adults is one of 22 citizen initiatives that failed to qualify for the 2026 ballot.
In fact, none of the proposed constitutional amendments by petition met legal requirements for a spot on the November ballot, according to the state.
Sunday was the deadline day for all required signatures to qualify for the midterm election.
Smart & Safe Florida, the group pushing for recreational marijuana to be legalized knew that.
Christopher: “You’ve gotta go through all 28 congressional districts and get a certain number of signatures,, and then the state adds those up and they verify them.”
Simply put, you can’t just collect signatures from anywhere or anybody to petition for a constitutional amendment. Most signature verification happens at your local election office, and it’s submitted to the state. The state said Smart and Safe Florida, needed 880,000 valid signatures, but claimed the group came up short with roughly 783,000.
That didn’t go over so well, and the group fired back their own set of numbers, claiming to have amassed 1.4 million signatures, adding that the county hadn’t finished counting.
“We believe the declaration by the Secretary of State is premature, as the final and complete county-by-county totals for validated petitions are not yet reported,”
Smart & Safe
Lauren: “And we know that this is a larger issue too in terms of the state really tightening the purse strings on petitions...saying ‘We’ve gotta go back and check these signatures...Where did you get these people’s names, addresses, phone numbers?”
Recently, Florida started tightening rules for citizen-led constitutional amendment petitions by requiring circulators to be Florida residents, shortening the deadline to submit signed forms (from 30 to 10 days), increasing fines for late or fraudulent signatures, demanding more voter ID info (like Driver’s License/SSN last 4 digits), and mandating training/background checks for paid circulators. All of it is aimed at curbing fraud and streamlining the process after identifying issues, though critics say it hinders direct democracy.
DON LEMON ARRESTED
“I will not be silenced.”
That’s the quote making its rounds on social media after former CNN Anchor Don Lemon walked out of a Los Angeles County jail on Thursday.
Lemon was arrested by federal agents and charged with federal civil rights crimes, including conspiracy, for his role in a January anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
He was accused of disrupting worship and violating worshippers’ rights under the FACE Act.
His arrest, alongside independent journalist Georgia Fort, also covering the protest, sparked widespread conversation about potentially politically motivated attacks on press freedom.
The Trump administration claims Lemon acted as a co-conspirator, not just a journalist.
PROPERTY TAX ELIMINATION PROPOSAL
Gov. Ron DeSantis’s property tax proposal remains an unspecified concept rather than a concrete, written plan, leading to significant confusion and debate among Florida lawmakers and local officials.
While the governor has repeatedly stated the goal of eliminating property taxes for homesteaded properties, the crucial details of implementation and funding are absent.
Here’s a quick breakdown of where question marks remain:
- Unclear funding mechanism: The most significant ambiguity is how the lost revenue (billions of dollars annually, which funds essential local services like schools, police, and fire departments) would be replaced. DeSantis has mentioned using state surpluses or increasing taxes on tourists/second homes, but no specific, viable plan has been detailed.
- Constitutional hurdles: Eliminating property taxes requires amending the Florida Constitution, a process that needs a 60% supermajority vote in both the House and the Senate, followed by 60% voter approval in a statewide referendum. The path to achieving this is highly uncertain.
- Local government concerns: Cities and counties argue that without a clear, permanent backfill plan, the proposal could bankrupt localities and force severe cuts to core services. They fear the burden would simply shift to businesses, renters, or non-homestead properties through increased fees or higher non-homestead millage rates.