Florida Labor Letter – On The Matter of the Ballot Box (Week of 8/7)

Daniel Diaz |

Welcome to another edition of the Florida AFL-CIO’s weekly Florida Labor Letter for the week of 8/7. It’s been a surprisingly busy week in Tallahassee as a significant court ruling impacting the November ballot came down right before Florida voters take up their first opportunity this year to weigh in on the Sunshine State’s elected officials and ultimate direction. Meanwhile, the organizing continues at the local level for Labor 2026, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 turns 61. Let’s get into it.

🏛️Legislative News

Property Tax Amendment 3 Ruled Misleading on the Ballot, Ordered to be Rewritten

Photo Credit: Rebecca Blackwell/AP & Politico

Remember this year’s Special Session F? We wouldn’t blame you if not, but that’s the one where our legislature put onto the ballot Florida Amendment 3 (2026), the misleading and dangerous proposal to remove Florida’s homestead exemption, one of the state’s few remaining pillars of local and county government revenue. As we and many others voiced throughout that session, the amendment would not, as its title misleadingly suggested “Save our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes” and instead would fundamentally upend and restructure what government is in the state of Florida at every level as public services, jobs, and resources would be either cut or funded through new and expensive fees to citizens.

In perhaps the biggest political surprise this week though, Florida’s courts announced that they agreed with us!

Following a bipartisan lawsuit effort brought in part by former lawmakers like Al Lawson and Jeff Brandes, the Leon County Circuit Court on Tuesday delivered a blistering ruling on 2026 Amendment 3, finding that:

“The ballot title and summary simply must pass muster under longstanding Florida law that demands fairness and accuracy in its description before placement on the ballot. Specifically, Section 5, Article XI of the [Florida] Constitution….require this Court to review the proposed ballot title and summary to determine whether their language fairly informs the voter of the chief purpose of the amendment and does not mislead. They fail both prerequisites and must be rewritten.“

Over 18 incredibly thorough pages (which you can read in full here), Circuit Judge David Frank takes apart the amendment’s title and summary in detail for its biased language and political rhetoric, making the legal case for what Florida’s working families have been saying all session long- that this amendment is a potentially massive cost burden on Florida’s working families that is being misleadingly packaged and sold to voters as benefits and savings.

Though they were previously enthusiastic supporters for property tax exemption before, the Governor and Attorney General refrained from appealing the ruling and instead agreed to re-word the amendment before it is proposed to voters this fall. No matter it is spun though, the ruling proved that this amendment just cant hide from its very serious flaws.

🍊Florida Labor News

Early Voting Begins for The Florida Primary!

No preamble for this one! As of tomorrow, August 8th, early voting in the Florida Primaries starts across all of Florida! Running from August 8-15th, Florida voters will have the opportunity to decide who will take the party nominations for a host of offices congressional and statewide including Governor, Senate, and more!

That’s not all either, as primaries are just as critically important for local offices as they are state ones. Depending on your location, and regardless of your party affiliation, working families may also be asked to weigh in on the candidates for important non-partisan positions such as mayors, school board officials, city commissioners, and judges!

In case you need a reminder, you can use this lookup to find your local supervisor of elections for details on not just who is running in your locality, but also where you can vote if you are voting in person!

Thanks to the incredible work from all of our Central Labor Councils, COPE Committee, and you our members, the Florida AFL-CIO continues to endorse a growing number of candidates who are on the ballot during primary season. These candidates best represent the individuals with the commitment and will to fight for working families once elected and have earned our enthusiasm!

Though your vote as a citizen is and forever remains entirely your own, you can see the full list of FL AFL-CIO endorsed candidates on the Labor 2026 Endorsements page of our website! For endorsements regarding city and county races such as school board and city commission, we direct you to your nearest Central Labor Council for your full local breakdown.

✊Solidarity Spotlight

Tips from a Forever Florida Activist: Felicia Bruce

It’s not often we get to do a member spotlight, but it’s always for a good reason. This week, as our working families across the state continue to strategize and organize, FLARA President and AFT Retiree Felicia Bruce gave some inspiring words in the American Federation of Teacher’s Voices publication, which highlights the some of the important and dedicated everyday voices behind our nation’s education, healthcare, and public services.

In a piece entitled “Still organizing, still fighting” Bruce, a well seasoned and beloved part of the FL AFL-CIO family (and frequent WFLC participant) gives us all some words of motivation as to how its always possible to play an important role in your community as a forever member of the labor community:

“We give substance and style to the slogan, ‘Activists never retire.’

As retirees, we are often called the daytime army of every union in America, but we are so much more. We may not be paying dues from a regular paycheck any longer, but we sure as hell are not done contributing yet. We still educate. We still vote. We still show up.“

As sessions and election years ramp up so many of our efforts, we are reminded that activism is a year round job, and the tenacity and dedication of Felicia and all our members like her inspire us to keep up the good fight, in Solidarity!

🗓️On the Horizon

As Labor 2026 gets underway, make sure you are not just making a plan to vote, but staying tuned to our FL AFL-CIO Mobilize to see the latest ways you can get involved in local actions, canvassing efforts, and more! See below for some important dates and visit Mobilize for the full breakdown!

  • Statewide
    • Important Primary Election Dates!
      • Ahead of the general, Florida’s registered voters must first decide their candidates in the primaries.
        • NOTE: As a closed primary state, only registered partisans can vote in a party primary here in Florida.
        • NPAs should not count themselves down and out though, as they can participate in a number of races across the state involving primaries for non-partisan office such as school board officials and judges.
        • Every voter is encouraged to check with their local supervisor of elections to find out what races are happening near you to ensure you can make your voice heard.
      • Wherever you are on the aisle, you should know these important primary dates from the Division of Elections:
        • Deadline to send vote-by-mail ballots to UOCAVA voters: July 4, 2026
        • Deadline to send vote-by-mail ballots to domestic voters: July 9 – 16, 2026
        • Deadline to register to vote or change party affiliation: July 20, 2026
        • Deadline to request that ballot be mailed: August 6, 2026
        • Primary Early Voting (mandatory period): August 8 – 15, 2026 <– You are HERE
        • Primary Election Day: August 18, 2026
  • Digital
    • First Monday of every Month: FLARA Monthly Meetings
      • The Florida Alliance of Retired Americans (FLARA) invites any and all to attend their monthly zoom meetings. FLARA meets on the first Friday of every month at 10 AM EST, and features guest speakers and relevant information for retirees from national and state governments as well as important information on demonstrations, partner activities, etc.
      • Those interested in attending FLARA meetings should contact tammy@flara.org in order to get the monthly invitation.
  • Regional

🛠️Business Board

Let’s Get Medicaid Expansion On the 2028 Ballot!

Attendees of our COPE Convention may recall one of our signature workshops by the Florida Policy Institute’s Chief Strategy & Development Officer, Holly Bullard, on the important topic of Medicaid Expansion in Florida. Off of the positive reception to her workshop, we wanted to make sure that all of you knew about the important and growing fight to finally get it done in Florida.

Over 15 years, Medicaid Expansion bills have been filed in the Florida Legislature, and have gone nowhere. This is all despite the fact that 75% of Florida voters support expansion, including a majority of Republicans. All the while, years of inaction have left over 3.5 million Floridians in a growing gap with no healthcare, increasing premiums, and billions left on the table in federal funds that could easily alleviate the issue. It’s time to change this un-necessary and awful reality, and Florida’s working families are key to getting it done.

Florida Decides Healthcare is leading a citizen-led ballot initiative to expand Medicaid and cover over one million Floridians who fall through the cracks: workers who earn too much for Medicaid but too little for private insurance. These are our siblings who show up every day and still can’t afford to see a doctor. With an unresponsive legislature, it’s time the voters forced action on the issue themselves. Since the legislature cracked down on citizens having a say in their own constitution last year, we’re hitting the ground early on this effort for 2028. Here’s how you can help:

Here’s the ask. It takes one minute:

  1. Request your petition at https://floridadecideshealthcare.org/aflcio/
  2. It arrives by mail. Sign it.
  3. Mail it back. That’s it.

Your signature moves Medicaid expansion one step closer to Florida voters, and one step closer to healthcare for a million of your fellow Floridians. In a state that seeks to silence its voters, every single signature counts, so feel free to share the link with your coworkers, family, neighbors, and union siblings statewide.

All Florida workers deserve affordable healthcare. This is how we show up and make it happen.

  • P.O.W.E.R Trainings and Pledge: Labor 2026 represents not just a statewide, but a national opportunity for change to build a better future for all of those in organized labor. To achieve victory, we’ll need as much help as we can get! Ahead of November, take the P.O.W.E.R pledge to:
    • Protect: Protecting the vote and ensuring every member can safely cast their ballot.
    • Organize: Organize new labor strongholds led by workers.
    • Win: Win crucial races that determine the future of workers’ rights.
    • Engage: Engage our baseline through authentic peer-to-peer contact.
    • Right Now: Mobilize Right Now. Action today creates victory tomorrow.

📸Bonus Bulletin

61 Years of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

In the blur of constant news, it’s easy to not notice the passage of time. Today though, marks the 61st Anniversary of the United States Voting Rights Act of 1965 going into effect, landmark legislation designed to combat Jim Crow-era racial discrimination faced by Black voters and citizens as well as enforce equal access to the constitutional right to vote for all of America’s citizens. As put best by our National AFL-CIO:

The Voting Rights Act was indisputably successful—the number of registered Black voters increased from less than 1 million in 1965 to nearly 3.6 million in 1986. In recent years, it has been under attack by corporate-backed political forces that seek to dilute the electoral power of working people. A few months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais ruling eviscerated key protections in the Voting Rights Act, and as soon as the decision was handed down, state legislatures around the South immediately moved to further gerrymander their voting maps.

This year’s anniversary of the Voting Rights Act’s passage is a solemn one and serves as a reminder that our hard-fought freedoms must constantly be defended. As we approach a critically important midterm election, America’s unions remain united in the fight to restore, protect and expand the freedom to vote so we can all make our voices heard and build worker power at the ballot box.

No matter where it is, whether in Florida or across the nation, we will forever stand committed towards the pursuit of fighting to address racial inequities wherever they exist and advocate for the expansion and protection of all the voices in our democracy, no matter their background.

That concludes this week’s roundup! Thank you for reading and as always, In Solidarity!

Got any tips, actions, or messages you’d like to see in this email?

Please email Daniel Diaz at ddiaz@flaflcio.org

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