Voter guide 2024: What's on your Miami-Dade ballots

• Florida's abortion referendum will have massive implications for reproductive health in the South.

Voting in Florida

• You can register to vote, update your address, or change your party affiliation online or by mail through Oct. 7.
• Mail-in ballot requests are due Oct. 24. The deadline to return a filled-out ballot is 7pm on Election Day. Request a mail ballot through the elections supervisor's office.

Amendment 4: Abortion rights

• Amendment 4 would enshrine abortion access in the Florida Constitution. The language calls for access to the procedure before fetal viability — typically about 24 weeks of pregnancy, the same standard once allowed under Roe v. Wade.
• It would therefore abolish a six-week abortion ban that went into effect in May and would largely return Florida's abortion landscape to where it was before the Supreme Court overturned Roe in June 2022.
• Gov. Ron DeSantis has gone all-in against the amendment, using public resources to investigate petition signers and publish a website with debunked criticisms of the measure.
• Alongside Amendment 4, ballots will include language known as a financial impact statement that warns approval may lead to lawsuits, state-funded abortions, and hinder revenue growth.
• Amendment supporters unsuccessfully challenged the wording and have criticized the drafting process as another use of public resources to sow doubt about the ballot initiative.

Go deeper:

• Florida abortion ballot initiative hits threshold for state Supreme Court review
• Florida high court clears way for six-week abortion ban, OKs ballot measure
• As Florida abortion ban disrupts care, activists push ballot initiative
• DeSantis goes all-in against Florida's abortion rights amendment
• DeSantis defends abortion amendment probe as police question voters' signatures
• DeSantis administration cites rejected signatures to justify abortion amendment probe

Amendment 3: Recreational marijuana

• Amendment 3 would legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 years and older. (Medical marijuana is already legal in Florida.)
• The ballot referendum would limit personal possession to three ounces of plant or five grams of concentrate.
• It would also allow licensed facilities to grow and sell weed.

Go deeper:

• Lawmakers join Amendment 3 supporters in challenging DeSantis' weed-smell warning
• Recreational marijuana legalization will be on Florida ballots this November, court rules

Amendment 1: Partisan school board elections

• School boards have become increasingly political in recent years. (DeSantis became the first governor to endorse school board candidates in 2022.)
• If passed, Amendment 1 would require candidates to disclose their party affiliation when running for office, undoing a 1998 amendment making school board races nonpartisan.

• Supporters of the change say it gives voters more transparency and information about who they're voting for.
• Critics say the move would further politicize education across the state.

The three amendments need 60% approval to pass.

U.S. Senate: Rick Scott (R) vs. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D)

• Sen. Rick Scott faces a challenge from former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D), who was urged to enter the race by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic-aligned groups.
• Scott — who earlier this year mounted a longshot bid for Senate Republican leader — is a frequent critic of federal government spending and a hardliner on border security. He served two terms as governor, from 2011 to 2019.
• Mucarsel-Powell is the first Hispanic woman ever nominated by the Florida Democratic Party for a statewide office. She describes herself as a battle-tested leader who is more in touch with the needs of Floridians than her opponent.
• Florida Democrats are eager to tie Scott to Florida's near-total abortion ban as he tries to soften his stance on the issue. Scott said in April that he would prefer to see a 15-week ban in Florida with exceptions for "rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother."
• Scott and Republicans have targeted Mucarsel-Powell's views on immigration, including her vote for a 2019 bill offering legal status to some undocumented immigrants.

Go deeper:

• Senate Democrats prepare Florida and Texas offensives
• National Democrats invest in 10 states, including Florida Senate race
• Rick Scott dials up election denialism
• Rick Scott challenger launches radio ad blitz to reach Latino voters

U.S. House District 27: María Elvira Salazar (R) vs. Lucia Báez Geller (D)

• Republicans are trying to keep control of the House and Rep. María Elvira Salazar is looking to win re-election to her third term in Congress representing District 27.
• The Cuban-American former journalist is facing Miami-Dade School Board member Lucia Báez Geller, whose parents are Cuban and Colombian.
• Salazar has sponsored legislation to prohibit the unauthorized use of likeness or voice for AI. She bills herself as a critic of socialism and has faced criticism for voting against legislation that would have brought federal funds to her district.
• Báez Geller is a vocal advocate for restoring abortion rights. Salazar voted to restrict access to the abortion medication mifepristone.
• District 27, which House Democrats targeted as a potential flip, stretches from Westchester to Cutler Bay and Key Biscayne.

U.S. House District 23: Jared Moskowitz (D) vs. Joe Kaufman (R)

• Rep. Jared Moskowitz is running for re-election against Joe Kaufman, a counter-terrorism researcher, writer and lecturer looking to flip the district red.
• As a state representative in 2018, Moskowitz helped pass a gun control and school safety law after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (Moskowitz attended the Parkland school, which is in District 23.)
• The first-term Democrat, appointed by DeSantis in 2019 as director of emergency management, has touted his ability to pass bipartisan legislation.
• Kaufman has lost six elections between 1990 and 2018. He is against gun control measures and Amendment 4, the state referendum on abortion rights. (Moskowitz supports the amendment and a federal ban on assault-style rifles.)
• In questionnaires for the Sun Sentinel, both candidates say lowering consumer and health care costs are top priorities. They both support Israel in its war in Gaza, though Moskowitz said Israel should "take every precaution to minimize civilian casualties."
• District 23 includes Broward and Palm Beach counties.

U.S. House District 24: Frederica Wilson (D) vs. Jesus Navarro (R)

• U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, who has served in the House since 2010, is facing Republican Jesus Navarro for a second straight election. Wilson handily defeated Navarro in 2022.
• Wilson, known for her colorful cowboy hats, has worked to protect the temporary protected status of Haitian immigrants and public housing residents from unsanitary living conditions. She also voted for a 2022 gun violence bill expanding background checks and funding crisis intervention programs.
• In 2023, hoping to raise awareness for abortion rights, Wilson delivered a speech on the House floor about how she almost died delivering a stillborn baby in the 1960s — before the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling made abortions legal.
• Navarro, who holds a political science degree, has no experience in public service but says his priorities include fighting government corruption and illegal immigration and increasing domestic energy production. He has said he is against abortion and gun control.
• District 24 stretches from Miami Beach past Miami Gardens and into southern Broward County.

U.S. House District 28: Carlos Gimenez (R) vs. Phil Ehr (D)

• Rep. Carlos Gimenez, the former Miami-Dade mayor, is running for re-election to a third term against Democrat Phil Ehr.
• Gimenez, the only Cuban-born member of Congress, has called on the Biden administration to reimpose sanctions on Venezuela after its recent election scandal and denounced that a former Cuban government official was able to immigrate to Miami.

• A fierce defender of former President Trump, Gimenez helped lead the House investigation into the failed assassination of Trump in July and recorded himself standing on the Pennsylvania roof where the shooter opened fire. (He said he voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016.)
• Ehr, a 26-year U.S. Navy veteran who served in the Mariel boatlift, says he wants to secure the U.S. border and reform legal immigration, enact gun reform, and restore abortion rights
• Ehr, who said he would relocate from the Florida Panhandle to South Florida when he announced his campaign, previously unsuccessfully ran against U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz in 2020.
• District 28 encompasses Monroe County and the southwest portion of Miami-Dade.

Sheriff: James Reyes (D) vs. Rosanna "Rosie" Cordero-Stutz (R)

• For the first time in nearly 60 years, Miami-Dade voters are electing a sheriff to oversee the police department.
• Democrat James Reyes, the Miami-Dade chief of public safety, faces Republican Rosanna "Rosie" Cordero-Stutz, the police department's assistant director of investigative services.
• Reyes has the endorsement of his boss, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, while Cordero-Stutz — a 28-year veteran of the department — has the seal of approval from Trump and DeSantis.
• Reyes wants to establish an independent public corruption unit, build community trust with the police department, and use his managerial experience to ensure a smooth transition to an elected sheriff.
• Cordero-Stutz says she would implement a "zero-tolerance policy" against public corruption, strengthen community partnerships, and support crisis intervention training for officers responding to incidents involving mental health issues.

County Commission, District 7: Cindy Lerner (nonpartisan) vs. Raquel Regalado

• Commissioner Raquel Regalado is running for re-election against former Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner.
• Regalado, an attorney and longtime radio and TV host, served six years on the Miami-Dade School Board. She says she was inspired to run by her children — who are on the autism spectrum — to improve services for children with disabilities.
• Regalado, a Tri-Rail board member, worked on the expansion of the tax-funded rail service to downtown Miami and championed the opening of a mental health facility to keep people with severe mental illnesses from going to jail.
• Her website says she is prioritizing environmental resilience, infrastructure and economic development, and advocating for neurodivergent children and adults.
• Lerner says she wants to expand transit options, partner with local cities to fight flooding, and prioritize environmental protection over development.
• District 7 includes Coral Gables and Kendall.

Miami-Dade School Board

• Two races are on the November ballot after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the August primary. The impasse showed voters were split on the board's conservative shift in recent years.
• In District 7, incumbent Mary Blanco, who was appointed by DeSantis in 2023 and endorsed by him this year, faces political newcomer Max Tuchman.
• Blanco, a guidance counselor at a private Catholic school, has advocated for more mental health services for students. She's consistently sided with conservatives on the board. Tuchman, a former teacher endorsed by the union, has been critical of the governor.
• In District 3, former state representative and longtime chair of Miami-Dade County Democratic Party Joseph Geller faces former school board member Martin Karp to succeed Báez Geller.
• Geller (no relation to Báez Geller) was endorsed by the teachers' union and has advocated against book banning and in favor of supporting LBGTQ+ students. He's a registered Democrat.
• Karp, who until recently was a registered Republican, is a dean for a group of private Jewish schools. He says he supports higher teacher pay and expanded after-school programs.

Local referendums: City of Miami and Miami Beach

Miami voters will decide on four referendums, including whether the city should sell 5.4 acres of public land on the north side of Watson Island for $135 million to developers planning to build a residential and commercial project.

• As part of the proposed sale in Referendum 2, the developers would return 13 acres to the city and build a new waterfront park, at no cost to the city. The developers would also contribute $15 million to city projects.
• Under Referendum 3, the city would sell 3.2 acres of leased property on the south side of Watson Island for $25 million to developers planning a mixed-use project, including condominiums and office space.
• The developer would contribute $9 million to city projects and build a waterfront walking path.

Miami Beach voters will weigh in on just seven referendums after the City Commission voted to repeal Referendum 8, which asked whether to adopt a 1% tax at restaurants to fund homelessness services.

• Votes for Referendum 8 will not count.
• Here is the city's guide to the other ballot measures.