Florida Prohibit Mandatory Sentences Initiative (2026)
| Florida Prohibit Mandatory Sentences Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2026 | |
| Topic Civil and criminal trials | |
| Status Cleared for signature gathering | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Florida Prohibit Mandatory Sentences Initiative (Initiative #22-15) may appear on the ballot in Florida as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026.
The ballot initiative would provide that the legislature may set sentencing guidelines in statute but that the legislature may not prescribe a mandatory sentence for any offense; provide that sentencing judges have discretion to impose sentences they deem appropriate; and provide that individuals currently serving a mandatory sentence may request a rehearing to allow the sentencing judge to reconsider the sentence.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title is as follows:[1]
| “ | Judicial Discretion in Sentencing in Criminal Cases[2] | ” |
Ballot summary
The proposed ballot summary is as follows:[1]
| “ | Provides strict separation between legislative branch and judicial branch with respect to
sentencing in all criminal cases to give sentencing judges discretion to consider certain factors before formulating appropriate sentences and provides individuals currently serving any fixed sentence or mandatory sentence a means to petition the court of original jurisdiction to obtain a resentencing hearing to allow sentencing judges discretion to consider those factors before formulating appropriate sentences.[2] |
” |
Full text
The full text can be accessed here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Florida, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8% of the votes cast in the preceding presidential election. Florida also has a signature distribution requirement, which requires that signatures equaling at least 8% of the district-wide vote in the last presidential election be collected from at least half (14) of the state's 28 congressional districts. Signatures remain valid until February 1 of an even-numbered year.[3] Signatures must be verified by February 1 of the general election year the initiative aims to appear on the ballot.
Proposed measures are reviewed by the state attorney general and state supreme court after proponents collect 25% of the required signatures across the state in each of one-half of the state's congressional districts (222,898 signatures for 2024 ballot measures). After these preliminary signatures have been collected, the secretary of state must submit the proposal to the Florida Attorney General and the Financial Impact Estimating Conference (FIEC). The attorney general is required to petition the Florida Supreme Court for an advisory opinion on the measure's compliance with the single-subject rule, the appropriateness of the title and summary, and whether or not the measure "is facially invalid under the United States Constitution."[4]
The requirements to get an initiative certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures: The number of valid signatures required for 2026 initiatives will be determined by a count of all accepted ballots turned in for the 2024 presidential election. Ballotpedia pages will be updated when the number is officially confirmed.
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification was February 1, 2026. As election officials have 30 days to check signatures, petitions should be submitted at least one month before the verification deadline.
In Florida, proponents of an initiative file signatures with local elections supervisors, who are responsible for verifying signatures. Supervisors are permitted to use random sampling if the process can estimate the number of valid signatures with 99.5% accuracy. Enough signatures are considered valid if the random sample estimates that at least 115% of the required number of signatures are valid.
Details about the initiative
The organization Floridians for Redeemable People filed the ballot initiative, which was approved for signature gathering on October 26, 2022.[1]
See also
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Florida Division of Elections, "Initiative #22-15," accessed November 19, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Before the passage of Florida Senate Bill 1794 of 2020, signatures remained valid for a period of two years
- ↑ Florida State Senate, "Florida Senate Bill 1794," accessed April 13, 2020
