WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — If the majority of Floridians had it their way, recreational marijuana would be legalized and abortion access expanded, as Amendment 3 on the ballot received 55% support and Amendment 4 received 57% support.
However, Florida is one of four states that requires a 60% supermajority to change its constitution.
"I'm still just processing what just happened," voter Emma Yasinsk said.
Ironically, Florida approved the change in 2006 in a vote of 57%, which many Floridians weren't aware of going into this election.
"I had no idea it had to be 60%, I was very surprised," voter Terry Hickey said.
Although the supermajority standard may seem odd, Nova Southeastern law professor Bob Jarvis said there is a reason behind the higher bar.
“Since 1986, we've had over 100 amendments proposed to the Florida constitution,” said Jarvis. “Some people think the numbers should be higher, that we have made too many changes to our constitution. The good thing about the supermajority requirement is that if an amendment does pass, you know that it didn't just squeak by.”
Jarvis doesn’t believe lawmakers have much of an appetite for returning to a simple majority – which means any such effort would have to be spearheaded by voters.
“They would have to launch a campaign, somebody would have to bankroll it, and then they would have to, ironically, get 60% in order to move it back down to 50% plus one,” Jarvis said.
Professor Jarvis says the higher bar for amendments demonstrates yet another reason people need to get to the polls if they want to see changes.
