Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo hopes to sidestep an appeals court’s rejection of a plan to move the city’s elections to even-numbered years – allowing Pardo and other elected officials to remain in office an extra year – by asking voters to approve the measure.
Pardo will request a special session of the city commission later this month to place the referendum on November’s ballot. The deadline for such a move is September 5.
“We remain committed to increasing voter representation and decreasing electoral costs in the City of Miami and plan to introduce legislation to place moving the election to even years on the ballot as soon as possible,” Pardo said in a statement on the social media platform X.
READ MORE: Miami election date change without voter approval ruled unconstitutional
An earlier, Pardo-sponsored plan to move the elections through commission decree – without voter approval – has been ruled unconstitutional. City officials are appealing that ruling.
Pardo has argued that a shift to even-year voting – aligning with state and federal races – will reduce costs and boost voter turnout. He also has said the change is necessary to avoid legal challenges to a separate voter referendum this November limiting city officials to a lifetime limit of two terms in office.
A handful of candidates for November’s mayoral and commission races will be affected by the term-limits proposal.
A spokesperson confirmed Pardo’s plans to push for a ballot measure in November changing the city’s election cycle. Pardo declined comment.
In June, the city commission ignored intense public outrage to narrowly approve a plan to bypass a citywide referendum on even-year voting, prompting a lawsuit by Emilio González, a former Miami city manager now running for mayor.
In July, a judge blocked the measure, ruling it to be in violation of the state constitution.
After an appeals court upheld that ruling, the city’s attorneys asked for a rehearing before all 14 members of the Third District Court of Appeals – an exceedingly rare move that judicial experts describe as a kind of legal Hail Mary pass.
If that fails, the city has said they could appeal the case yet again – to the Florida Supreme Court.
This story was originally published in the Coconut Grove Spotlight, a WLRN News partner.
