Miami will try again for even-year elections -- this time, with voter approval
The Miami City Commission will try again to pass a proposal that could move the city’s elections to even years, after a prior attempt crashed and burned last summer when commissioners approved a controversial ordinance that would have given them an extra year in office.
That ordinance, which pushed the November 2025 election to November 2026, faced scrutiny from residents and the courts. Two back-to-back rulings found the ordinance violated the Florida Constitution because it altered the city charter without voter approval. The November 2025 election proceeded as planned.
Now, some of the city’s elected officials are hoping to put the change on the August primary ballot in the form of a referendum. On Thursday, commissioners voted to have the city attorney start drafting ballot language.
Another major difference from the previous legislation is that this change wouldn’t go into effect until after the next election cycle, meaning that when the next City Commission race happens in 2027, voters would knowingly elect candidates to one-time five-year terms that would run until 2032. City commission and mayoral terms are typically four years in Miami.
https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article314252985.html