Florida Judge Orders Property-Tax Ballot Rewrite Over ‘Political Slogan’

Florida’s sweeping property tax proposal can't appear on the November ballot with its current title and summary, a judge ruled late on Monday.Leon County Circuit Judge David Frank declared the language “clearly and conclusively defective,” describing the title—“Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes”—as “more akin to a political slogan” than a neutral explanation for voters.He found similar problems with the ballot summary, the brief description voters see on the ballot that is supposed to explain an amendment’s purpose.“The purpose of a ballot summary is to explain what an amendment would do, not to advocate for its adoption,” Frank wrote, ruling in favor of the cheekily named "Save Our Voters From Misleading Ballot Language" and five individual plaintiffs who brought three challenges, the first of which was filed in mid-June.The ruling won't remove Amendment 3 from the ballot. Instead, it bars the secretary of state from using the current wording and gives Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier 10 days to submit a revised title and summary.But the decision undercuts the language Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used to garner support for reform, and put the Sunshine State at the ...