Amendment 1: should Florida school board elections become partisan?

TAMPA, Fla. — As Florida voters gear up for Election Day, we’re taking a look at Amendment 1.

The ballot language reads in part: “Proposing amendments to the State Constitution to require members of a district school board to be elected in a partisan election rather than a nonpartisan election and to specify that the amendment only applies to elections held on or after the November 2026 general election..."

School board elections in the state used to be partisan, but voters in 1998 decided to make them nonpartisan.

As people weigh their decisions ahead of Election Day, ABC Action News wanted hear the voice of the community.

“The school board is to regulate the school system,” said Ellen Lyons. “It is not a political party body.”

Lyons is a voter in Hillsborough County. She doesn’t support Amendment 1.

“There’s no reason to further polarize school board elections by adding a party component,” said Lyons. “Also, because many school board elections take place in the primary, non-party voters might not get to vote in the primary to support school board candidates. They would have to choose between the parties in the general election.”

On the flip side, Jake Hoffman views it differently.

“It’s something that will add transparency to our elections here,” said Hoffman.

Hoffman, the Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Young Republicans, supports the measure.

“There’s a misconception that school board races aren’t already partisan. They are already partisan,” said Hoffman. “They have been partisan for a long time, and one of the biggest questions we get for the Tampa Bay Young Republicans is who are the Republicans and who are the Democrats? And Democrats feel the same way too. People want to know who they are voting for.”

Remember proposed amendments to Florida’s Constitution need 60 percent approval from voters to pass.