Sponsored by the All Voters Vote Political Committee, Amendment 3 is known as the “Top-Two Open Primaries for State Offices” Initiative. This change would align Florida with states, like Louisiana and California, whose elections routinely pit candidates of the same party against each other.
An unforeseen outcome of this proposal is the loss of minority representation in both legislative chambers. Florida’s Constitution requires that state house and senate districts must be drawn compactly and equal in population. Both the federal 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 2010 Fair Districts Amendment to Florida’s Constitution require that racial minorities be able to elect candidates of their choosing and who reflect their communities. Black representation in the Florida Legislature is secured in Democratic primaries in which Black voters form a significantly greater proportion of the electorate than in the population at-large.