Amendment 1 fails: Florida voters reject partisan election of school board members

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What appeared as Amendment 1 on the ballot would have reversed a voter-approved change from 1998 that required school-board candidates to run without party affiliations. Amendment 1 received support from 55% of voters, short of the required 60%.

Supporters of Amendment 1 contended that holding partisan school-board elections would increase transparency about candidates and that the elections often are already battlegrounds for Republicans and Democrats.

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But critics argued the proposal was an effort to consolidate power by Republicans, who hold voter-registration edges in 57 of the state’s 67 counties.

The proposed amendment came after controversies have roiled many school boards in recent years about issues such as mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic and removing or restricting school library books. Also, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken a high-profile role in trying to help elect conservatives to school boards in some parts of the state.

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