Big blow to Donald Trump's Republican party as Florida Judge rules Miami election can't be delayed by a year

Miami city commissioners violated the Florida Constitution when they voted last month to postpone this fall's election to November 2026, a state judge ruled Monday, saying that such a change required voter approval. The judge, Valerie R. Manno Schurr of Florida's 11th Judicial Circuit, ruled in favor of Emilio T. González, a candidate for mayor. He sued in late June after the City Commission voted 3-2 to delay the election, a move it said was meant to save money and improve turnout. Critics noted that it would give elected city officials an extra year in office. The postponement had led to public outcry from candidates who had already filed to run, and from some voters who said the process had been undemocratic.

Mayor Francis X. Suarez and one city commissioner, Joe Carollo, are supposed to leave office at the end of this year because of term limits. Carollo voted against postponing the election; Suarez signed the approved ordinance into law.

The three commissioners who voted to postpone the Miami election said at a meeting in June that doing so would align with the midterms, lowering the election costs and probably leading to higher turnout. Before their vote, James Uthmeier, Florida's Republican attorney general, opined that changing the election date without voter approval would be unlawful. Governor Ron DeSantis agreed.


The commissioners and the mayor cannot lawfully change the date of a municipal election by ordinance, the judge wrote. Postponing the election from an odd-numbered year to an even-numbered one amounted to amending the city's charter, which would require approval from the electorate, she ruled.

The judge cited the Miami-Dade County charter, which governs cities in the county, including Miami, under the Florida Constitution. Lawyers for the city had argued that the ordinance changed the city's code, not its charter. The judge dismissed that argument, saying what mattered was the decision's substantive effect.

"Our Constitution deals with the substance of matters, not mere semantics," she wrote. "The city's contention that its ordinance did not 'amend' its City Charter is nothing more than semantic sleight of hand."

Manno Schurr dismissed the city's emergency request to toss out González's lawsuit and granted his request for summary judgment. The city immediately said it would fight the ruling.

FAQs

Q1. Who is Governor of Florida?
A1. Governor of Florida is Ron DeSantis.

Q2. When election in Miami?
A2. Miami election was supposed to be held this fall but city authority has taken steps to postpone it to next year.