A revised version of the ballot language for Florida’s proposed Amendment 3 drew slightly stronger support than the original wording, according to a new Sachs Media survey that found overall backing for the measure holding steady at 63%.
The Aug. 18 survey of 800 Florida voters found 63% would vote for the amendment if the election were held today, while 37% would oppose it. Support was largely unchanged from Sachs Media surveys conducted June 24 and Aug. 3, when 64% of respondents backed the proposal.
Researchers randomly divided respondents into two groups, with one seeing the original ballot language drafted by the Legislature and the other seeing revised language prepared by Attorney General James Uthmeier following a court challenge. Among voters shown the original language, 60% supported the amendment, compared with 65% among those shown the revised version. Florida constitutional amendments require 60% voter approval to pass. Sachs Media cautioned that the five-point difference was not statistically significant.
The revised language performed better among Democrats and voters without a party affiliation. Democratic support increased from 36% under the original language to 42% under the revision, while support among nonpartisan voters rose from 63% to 71%. Republican support declined slightly, from 89% to 86%.
“The gap between the two versions is within the margin of error, but statistical significance and political significance are separable here,” said Karen Cyphers, Ph.D., partner and chief research officer at Sachs Media. “What makes it worth watching is where the movement shows up. Nonpartisans and Democrats both moved toward yes when the language stopped arguing and started explaining, and those are exactly the voters an amendment needs to pass.”
Amendment 3 would increase the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments thereafter. It would also reduce the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property from 10% to 5%.
Sachs Media said the survey has an aggregate margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
