The summer is winding down, though you would never know it from the record-breaking heat throughout the state. July 2016 was the hottest July on record, going back 130+ years, and it is the tenth record-breaking month in a row. And hurricane season, while almost half over, is just entering the most active time of the year. Almost all of Florida’s public school kids are back in school now, too.
Primary Elections
There are 12.37 million registered voters able to participate in the August 30th primary elections. The breakdown is 4.7 million registered Democrats, 4.4 million Republicans, and 2.9 million with no party affiliation. More than 310,000 Floridians have registered to vote since March. While the deadline to register to vote in the primary election has passed, you have until October 11th to register to vote in the November general election.
Early voting began on Saturday, August 20th for the primary elections. The Primary election is tomorrow, August 30th. Each county’s Supervisor of Elections has the discretion to offer early voting on Sundays. Absentee ballots were mailed out on August 1st and must be received by August 30th.
On the ballot is one constitutional amendment related to solar energy.
Amendment 4 This proposed amendment was introduced and passed by the Florida Legislature in 2016. The amendment has two components: 1) exclusion of solar equipment from home property value calculations on property taxes; and 2) expansion of the existing residential program to include commercial and industrial properties who install solar energy devices. The tax exemptions would begin in 2018 and continue for 20 years. The amendment is strongly supported by a coalition of elected officials, environmental groups, chambers of commerce, and other business related entities. Opponents are led by tea party leaders and the Reverend Al Sharpton. To review the full text of the amendment as it appears on the ballot, go here.