Floridians in general support the idea of eliminating property taxes for homeowners, but the margin is extremely narrow, a new poll from the University of North Florida shows.
Forty-nine percent of the respondents either strongly or somewhat supported the proposal, according to the poll, released Tuesday by the Public Opinion Research Lab at UNF.
Forty-three percent of the people in the poll were opposed to eliminating property taxes.
Respondents were told that local governments in Florida receive about $40 billlion in revenue from property taxes annually. Homeowners and renters showed roughly equal support for eliminating the taxes.
“I guess renters understand that extra expense tends to trickle down, and with housing costs at the very top of the list of Florida problems, everyone is feeling it,” said Michael Binder, a political science professor and faculty director of the research lab.
Floridians continue to see housing costs as the state’s most important problem, the poll found. Fourteen percent of respondents listed housing costs as Florida’s No. 1 problem, followed by property insurance (12%) and property taxes (11%).
The economy and jobs also were high on the list with 11%, as were political division and polarization with 10%.
Property tax debate
Gov. Ron DeSantis has led the call to eliminate property taxes. Some lawmakers and a majority of local governments have warned that the loss of revenue could be catastrophic.
The Florida House this month unveiled a list of proposals aimed at reducing the property tax. Any reductions would ultimately have to be approved by voters during the 2026 election.
The UNF poll weighed the public’s sentiment from Oct. 15-25. The poll surveyed a random sample of 728 likely voters by telephone. The poll had a margin of error of +/-4.25 percentage points.
Besides property taxes, the poll covered a variety of topics including election candidates, the news media, Jeffrey Epstein, immigration, childhood vaccines and the death penalty.
GOVERNOR’S RACE: Potential Republican gubernatorial candidates Casey DeSantis and Byron Donalds hold equal leads over their Democratic counterparts, David Jolly and Jerry Demings. With 47% of the vote in both cases, DeSantis came in 13 points ahead of Jolly and 11 points ahead of Demings. Donalds’ matchups had a nearly identical spread. His 45% put him 11 points over Jolly and 12 points over Demings.
READ MORE: Survey shows Florida Republicans leading Democrats in top 2026 races by double digits
U.S. SENATOR: Forty-nine percent said they would support Republican incumbent Ashley Moody if the election were held today. Thirty-eight percent supported Democrat Jennifer Jenkins. Ten percent said they don’t know who they’d vote for.
ATTORNEY GENERAL: Forty-five percent of respondents favored Republican incumbent James Uthmeier, with 36% supported Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez and 14% undecided.
INFORMATION SOURCES: Respondents were given a list of people and institutions that serve as general sources of information and asked to indicate whether they think the information they provide is mostly true (being accurate), mistaken (but trying to be accurate), or lies (intentionally misleading). Medical research scientists were reported to be the most truthful, with 47%. CNN media figures had the greatest percentage indicating they mostly lie with 43%, just beating out Fox News media figures with 39%. When asked about Donald Trump, 42% of respondents said they think the information he provides is mostly truthful, while 39% said it is mostly lies. Twelve percent said they think Trump is mostly mistaken.
“These numbers reflect the decreasing trust in media we’ve seen in recent years, with CNN perceived as bigger ‘liars’ than Fox News among registered Republicans, and the reverse among Democrats,” Binder said. “When it comes to the president, 71% of Republicans think he mostly tells the truth, and 12% will allow that he’s mistaken, but 9% say the information he gives is mostly lies.”
JEFFREY EPSTEIN: Eighty-three percent of respondents said the Justice Department should publicly release all files associated with the Jeffrey Epstein case. Nine percent opposed the release, and 8% said they don’t know. In a related question, 32% expressed approval of how the Trump administration has handled the Epstein case. Fifty-seven percent disapproved.
IMMIGRATION: Fifty-four percent of respondents either strongly or somewhat approved with how President Trump is handling immigration. Forty-four percent indicated disapproval. Regionally, approval was highest in North Florida and rural areas and lowest in South Florida and urban areas.
END OF LIFE: Sixty-three percent said they would support proposed legislation that would allow a terminally ill patient to receive a prescription for medication to end their life. This would be an option only for patients who are acting voluntarily, are capable of making their own health care decisions, and are able to administer the medication themselves. Twenty-eight percent of respondents expressed opposition.
CHILDHOOD VACCINES: Nearly two-thirds of Floridians oppose a policy to remove all childhood vaccination mandates. About half of all respondents — 48% — said they oppose the policy strongly. About a third of respondents support removing vaccine mandates.
“Florida’s surgeon general is following RFK Jr.’s lead in the fight against vaccines, but it doesn’t appear there’s much support among Florida voters,” Binder said. “As you might expect, support was much higher among people who like RFK than those who don’t. A little more surprising is that even among people who said they think medical research scientists are mostly lying, 46% oppose getting rid of vaccine requirements, with 52% in support.”
DEATH PENALTY: Respondents were told that under certain circumstances, a new Florida statute allows any method of execution in death penalty cases that has not been deemed unconstitutional. Fifty-five percent of respondents who support the death penalty said lethal injection is the preferred method of execution. Firing squad received 6% support and electrocution 6%.
“This bill slipped under a lot of people’s radar, quietly taking effect this summer,” Binder said. “Now keep in mind, no method of execution has ever been deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, so this leaves the door open to other methods, including firing squad, beheading, and yes, even stoning.”
This story first appeared in Jacksonville Today.
