Broward County

Open seat; Judge Michael G. Kaplan retired. A runoff between the top two from August, when Hamilton led with 41% to Fry's 34%. No pick: we found too little on either.

Also on some ballots, and not rated: Central Broward Water Control District, Zone 6 (David Donzella, Patrick J. Mason); Coral Springs Improvement District, Seat 4 (Travis McEwen, Maryam Omidi) and Seat 5 (Michael Kraus, Curt Tiefenbrun); Monterra CDD, Seat 2 (Syed Hashem, Adam Zee); Orchid Grove CDD, Seat 5 (Jill Jernigan Quigley, Edward K. Wolling); South Broward Drainage District, Zone 2 (Alanna Orlen Mersinger, Steven Zucker), Zone 4 (Luis Pedraza, Mercedes B. Santana-Woodall) and Zone 5 (Richard Andrews, Sean Knowles); Sunshine Water Control District, Seat 4 (Angelo "Chuck" LaRussell, José "Joe" Morera) and Seat 5 (Prem Mirpuri, Paul Stepler); Turtle Run CDD, Seats 1, 2 and 3; and Walnut Creek CDD, Seats 1 and 3. Retention votes for Supreme Court Justice Carlos G. Muñiz and five Fourth District Court of Appeal judges (Alan O. Forst, Mark W. Klingensmith, Johnathan D. Lott, Shannon K. Shaw and Caroline Cahill Shepherd) are also on the ballot.

Cervera led the August primary with 38% to Fernandez's 26%.

We describe what it does and don't make a recommendation.

• One-mill school property tax: Renews the one mill of property tax ($1 for every $1,000 of taxable value) that voters approved in 2022, from January 1, 2027 to December 31, 2030. It raises about $358 million a year for district and charter schools. At least 90% goes to pay supplements for teachers and eligible staff, and up to 10% to school safety staff and mental health services. It is a renewal, not a new tax.

Ashley Moody was appointed in January 2025 to fill Marco Rubio's vacated seat.

Open seat. Also on the ballot: Scott Eckhard Jewett and Nicole Skelly (Libertarian), and five no-party tickets: Charles Burkett and Ruben A. Coto, Frank J. Russo and Rachel Rodriguez, Moliere "Moe" Dimanche and Benjiman Rojas, Dean Ocean Abrams and Joe Van Vactor, and Jeffrey Peter "Dr. Jeff" Datto and Juan Santana.

We describe what each amendment does and don't make recommendations. A Florida constitutional amendment needs 60% yes to pass.

• Amendment 1: Lets the state keep up to 25% of general revenue in its rainy-day fund (the budget stabilization fund), up from 10%. The Legislature would have to put in $750 million a year, or whatever it takes to reach 25%, unless certain conditions are met, and could pull money out for critical state needs.
• Amendment 2: Exempts equipment and other tangible personal property on agricultural land from property tax, when it is used for farming or agritourism and owned by the landowner or leaseholder. Starts in 2027.
• Amendment 3: Raises the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then adjusts it for inflation, and lets counties and cities go as high as the full value of the home. People who move to Florida after December 31, 2026 get the bigger exemption only from their fifth year. It also cuts the yearly cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property from 10% to 5%, and limits what counties and cities can spend property taxes on (public safety, schools, infrastructure, natural resources, debt, pensions, and operations). Takes effect January 1, 2027.
• Supreme Court: Justice Carlos G. Muñiz is up for a yes-or-no retention vote. We haven't profiled him.

Wasserman Schultz moved to this district after the 2026 redistricting, and won a five-way primary with about 45%.

Open seat. The pick goes to Gilbert for his record in office, with the funding report as a real concern.

The redrawn district now includes Miami Beach.

Locklin and Hosey both look decent; the pick leans to the Democrat.

Book has a long record and an ethics cloud; we found little on Rivera beyond his real estate career. We lean to Book.

Open seat; Rep. Chip LaMarca is term-limited. Covers coastal north Broward. Trump carried it with 53% in 2024.

Open seat; Rep. Mike Gottlieb is term-limited. Both have police union endorsements, so our pick goes to the Democrat.

Mayor: Scott J. Brook, Joshua Antonio Simmons. Commissioner, Seat 3: William "Bill" Capplis, Kohy Holmes, Marly Metayer, Erick Nyatenya, Terry Ann Williams Edden. Seat 4: Jeffrey "Jeff" Adelman, Tristan Celestin, Jennifer Levi.

Commissioner (vote for more than one): Kristof Von Anderson, Maoz Druskin, Diana Fahmie, Aaron "A-1" Hollis, Kevin Johnson, Colman W. Ryan.

Mayor: Judith "Judy" Paul, Jacqueline "Jackie" Rocha. District 1: Lains Love Albert, Heloise Giraldo, Michelle Whitman. District 3: Toula Amanna, Stephen Korka, Jordan Nelson, Susan Starkey. District 4: Alexander "Alex" Barr, Marlon Luis, Roxana Milan.

Commissioner, District 1 (special election): Heather Moraitis, John E. Rodstrom, Garry Smyth.

Commissioner, Seat 1: Mike Butler, Matthew Mickens, Viktor Vaynshteyn. Seat 2: Joy D. Adams, Cheryl "WhoDat" Robinson.

District 1: I. Feldman, Brian A. Paruas, Catherine "Cat" Uden. District 3: David Raskind, Alex Recio. District 5: Erin Marvasti, Adam Roberti.

Mayor: Edmund Fred Malkoon, Randolph "Randy" Strauss. Seat 1: Howard Goldberg, Theo Poulopoulos. Seat 2: Justin Bartholomew, Patrick Ferguson.

Mayor: Denise D. Grant, Pauline L. Ricketts. Seat 4: Richard Campbell, Jalecia K. Mack, Madline Noel, Mary Smith.

Seat 3: Antonio V. Arserio, Jonathan Kraljic, Mindy W. Lee, Sloan Robbins. Seat 5: Theresa Booker, Nina Culver, Lesa "LE" Peerman.

Mayor: Samson Borgelin, Tosha Chambers, Willnae LaCroix.

Commissioner (vote for more than one): David Anderson, Steven R. Arnst, Chris Fischer, Tim Lonergan.

Mayor: Timothy J. Fadgen, Nick Sortal. Council, Group 4: Aston Bright, H. Wayne Clark Jr.

District 1: Audrey Anne Fesik, Keriann Worley. District 2: Rhonda Eaton, Freddy York, Brandi Zabadal. District 3: Alison Fournier, Tom McMahon. District 4: Patricia Hawkins-Williams, Beverly Perkins, Mary Phillips.

Seat C: Evelyn B. Bryant, Neil C. Kerch, Emoni Nicole McGregor. Seat D: Jacqueline A. Guzman, Niccole M. Pazos.

District 2: Mike Gelin, Morey Wright Jr. District 4: Kicia Daniel, Carol Mendelson.

Seat 1: Derrick Jones Jr., Katrina V. Touchstone. Seat 2: Jajuan Burton, Brandon Smith.

Seat 3: Patricia C. Bernardini, German Melo. Seat 4: Jaime A. Herrero, Alfredo Ortega.

Mayor: Julie A. Carson, Jerry Fisichelli, Paul Rolli. Commissioner (vote for more than one): Angel Burgos, Don D'Arminio, Manish Kalra, Scott Newton.

On every Broward County ballot.

• Question 1, health care sales tax: Adds a quarter-cent sales surtax (0.25%) for five years to pay for a county health care plan, including heart and cancer screenings for qualified residents whose insurance doesn't cover them and primary and preventive care for low-income and medically underserved residents. It ends automatically if a separate 1% infrastructure surtax is approved.
• Question 2, plat approvals: Today the County Commission must approve plats (maps that divide land into lots) before they are recorded. This would let the commission set up another process by ordinance, such as approval by county staff.
• Question 3, county auditor: Today an independent board nominates one person for county auditor and the commission must confirm that person. This would have the board nominate three qualified candidates and the commission choose one by majority vote.

Only voters in each city see these. We couldn't get the ballot wording yet, so we list them without descriptions: Coconut Creek (5 questions), Cooper City (3), Deerfield Beach (9, Questions A to I), Fort Lauderdale (10), Hollywood (2), Lauderdale-by-the-Sea (8), North Lauderdale (5), Pembroke Pines (1), Southwest Ranches (1) and Wilton Manors (1). Your sample ballot has the full text.