The Green Papers: Florida State and Local Government

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Governor:1
Senators: 2 (Electoral Classes 1 and 3)
2020 Census: 21,570,527 (6.50% of 331,797,979
- 2024, 2028 Electors: 30 (5.58% of 538)
- 2022-2030 Representatives: 28 (6.44% of 435)
2010 Census: 18,900,773 (6.10% of 309,785,186)
- 2012, 2016, 2020 Electors: 29 (5.39% of 538)
- 2012-2020 Representatives: 27 (6.21% of 435)
Capital: Tallahassee

Current Florida Statewide Office Holders

Official Name/Status All States

The STATE of Florida
Status: STATE of the Union
Organized as a Territory: 30 March 1822. 3 Stat. 654: originally, formally annexed by the United States via Treaty with the Spanish Realm, 22 February 1819; temporary pre-Territorial governance provided for by Act of Congress, 3 March 1819
Admitted to the Union as a State: 3 March 1845 Enabling Act (5 Stat. 742, 788) also served as Act of Admission
The 27th state.

Traditional Sections and Regions All States

Section: SOUTH
Region: Lower ["Deep"] South
Survey: Public Domain

Constitutions All States Links to State Constitutions

Enabling Act (of the Congress of the United States): 3 March 1845 [5 Stat. 742, 788: recognizing a State government already formed and admitting the State forthwith]
- 1st (1845-1865) [Adopted: 11 January 1839 Convention convened, 3 December 1838, Ratified: 6 May 1839 ratified by a reported vote of 2,071 to 1,958; effective upon Admission, 3 March 1845
  [NOTE:The state Convention that adopted the Ordinance of Secession, 10 January 1861, also slightly amended this Constitution (by, for example, removing the words "United States" and, later in 1861, replacing these with "Confederate States"), such amendments not submitted to the People for ratification. The State of Florida considers this 1861 revision to be a separate, 2nd, Constitution from that of 1838/9 and, thus, numbers all subsequent State Constitutions (those from 1865 on) one ahead of the numerical sequence as seen on this list. 'The Green Papers', however, considers the 1861 revisions to be a mere recodification of the 1838/9 document made in order to bring it into better conformity with the Constitution of the Confederate States of America]]
- 2nd (1865-1868) [Adopted: 7 November 1865 Convention convened, 25 October 1865, Ratified: 7 November 1865 not submitted to the People]
- 3rd (1868-1887) [Adopted: 25 February 1868 Convention convened, 20 January 1868, Ratified: 6 May 1868 ratified by vote of 14,520 to 9,491]
- 4th (1887-1969) [Adopted: 3 August 1885 Convention convened, 9 June 1885, Ratified: 2 November 1886 ratified by vote of 31,803 to 21,243; effective, 1 January 1887]
- 5th (1969-) [Adopted: 3 July 1968 drafted and enacted by a Special Session of the Legislature- convened, 24 June 1968, Ratified: 5 November 1968 this Constitution (except for a proposed new Article on the Judiciary) was presented to the People as three separate ballot measures: the first ballot measure, which contained the bulk of the proposed document, was ratified by vote of 645,233 to 518,940, with the other two proposals ratified by slightly smaller margins; effective, 7 January 1969. Only in March 1972 was a new Judiciary Article, replacing that of the 1885/6 document, added to this Constitution by vote of the People]

Executive Branch All States

Chief Executive
- GOVERNOR
Successor to a Vacancy
- Lieutenant Governor [elected on same ticket with GOVERNOR]
- President of the State Senate [under State's 4th Constitution; next in line of succession: Speaker of the State House of Representatives]
- President of the State Senate (1845-1865) [under State's 1st Constitution; next in line of succession: Speaker of the State House of Representatives]
- Lieutenant Governor (1865-1887) [under State's 2nd and 3rd Constitutions; next in line of succession: Speaker of the State House of Representatives (1865-1868), President pro Tempore of the State Senate (1868-1887)]

Major Executive Officers Elected Statewide All States
- Governor: 4 year term, Election Cycle: 2022, 2026. Term Limit: 2 consecutive 4-year terms
- Lieutenant Governor: 4 year term, Election Cycle: 2022, 2026. Elected on ticket with Governor
- Secretary of State (--2002): 4 year term, Final Election Cycle: 1998. As of January 2003, this office will be appointive (there will be no election for this office in 2002 or anytime thereafter).
- Attorney General: 4 year term, Election Cycle: 2022, 2026
- Chief Financial Officer (2002--): 4 year term, Election Cycle: 2022, 2026. The new office of Chief Financial Officer will replace both the Comptroller and Treasurer in Florida.
- Treasurer (--2002): 4 year term, Final Election Cycle: 1998. As of January 2003, this office will disappear completely (there will be no election for this office in 2002 or anytime thereafter).
- Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services: 4 year term, Election Cycle: 2022, 2026
- Commissioner of Education (--2002): 4 year term, Final Election Cycle: 1998. As of January 2003, this office will be appointive (there will be no election for this office in 2002 or anytime thereafter).
- Comptroller (--2002): 4 year term, Final Election Cycle: 1998. As of January 2003, this office will disappear completely (there will be no election for this office in 2002 or anytime thereafter).

Legislative Branch All States

Legislature
- General Assembly (1845-1868) [under State's 1st and 2nd Constitutions]
- LEGISLATURE (1868--) [under State's 3rd, 4th and 5th Constitutions]

Upper House
- Senate
Lower House
- House of Representatives (1845-1868) [under State's 1st and 2nd Constitutions]
- Assembly (1868-1887) [under State's 3rd Constitution]
- House of Representatives (1887--) [under State's 4th and 5th Constitutions]

Judicial Branch All States

Court of Last Resort
- Supreme Court [IN and FOR: State]
Intermediate Appellate Court
- [District] Courts of Appeal (1957--) [IN: district FOR: State]

General Trial Jurisdiction
- Circuit Court Constitutional Court [IN: circuit FOR: county]

Limited Jurisdiction
- Justice of the Peace Constitutional Court [IN and FOR: county (-1887-) district]
- Municipal Court Statutory Court [IN and FOR: municipality. authorized by the State's 3rd and 4th Constitutions]
- Criminal Court of Record Constitutional Court [IN and FOR: county. under State's 4th Constitution]
- [Civil] Court of Record Constitutional Court [IN and FOR: county. under the State's 4th Constitution; where established, it replaced the County Court (but not the County Judge)]
- County Judge Constitutional Court [IN and FOR: county. separate from the County Court: under the State's 4th Constitution]
- Corporation Court (1845-1868) Statutory Court [IN and FOR: municipality. authorized by the State's 1st and 2nd Constitutions]
- County Court (1868--) Constitutional Court [IN and FOR: county]
Special Jurisdiction
- Court of Chancery (1845-1868) Constitutional Court
- Judge of Probate (1865-1868) Constitutional Court

Local Government All States

PRIMARY CIVIL DIVISION All States
- County [Type: Strong, Executive and Legislative: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS]
  - MINOR CIVIL DIVISION
    - precinct [Type: None, Executive and Legislative: no associated governmental structure]

Localities All States
- Florida Civil Divisions and Municipalities

Key Statewide / Federal Officials All States

Florida Officials

Statutory Election Information All States

General Election All States
- 1st Tuesday after 1st Monday in November of even-numbered years.
  (FL Statutes 100.031... in conformity with FL Constitution Article VI, Section 5)
Presidential Primary All States
- (--2007) 2nd Tuesday in March in each year which is a multiple of 4
  (FL Statutes 103.101)
- (2008-2011) Last Tuesday in January in each year which is a multiple of 4 (FL Statutes 103.101)
- (2011-2013) There shall be a Presidential Preference Primary Date Selection Committee composed of the Secretary of State, who shall be a nonvoting chair; three members, no more than two of whom may be from the same political party, appointed by the Governor; three members, no more than two of whom may be from the same political party, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and three members, no more than two of whom may be from the same political party, appointed by the President of the Senate. No later than October 1 of the year preceding the presidential preference primary, the committee shall meet and set a date for the presidential preference primary. The date selected may be no earlier than the first Tuesday in January and no later than the first Tuesday in March in the year of the presidential preference primary. [FL Statutes 103.101]
- (2014-2015) ... The presidential preference primary shall be held ... on the first Tuesday that the rules of the major political parties provide for state delegations to be allocated without penalty. Any party rule directing the vote of delegates at a national nominating convention shall reasonably reflect the results of the presidential preference primary .... [FL Statutes 103.101(1)]
- (2015--) ... The presidential preference primary shall be held ... on the third Tuesday in March of each presidential election year. Any party rule directing the vote of delegates at a national nominating convention shall reasonably reflect the results of the presidential preference primary .... [FL Statutes 103.101(1)]
  If ... a political party has only one presidential candidate, neither the name of the candidate nor the names of the candidate's delegates shall be printed on the ballot." [Florida Statutes 103.101, paragraph 4]
State Primary All States
- (--2006) the Tuesday exactly 9 weeks before the General Election
  (FL Statutes 100.061)
  NOTE: Through the 2000 Elections, FLORIDA scheduled a potential "Second Primary" (that is, a runoff in all cases where no candidate achieved a majority of the vote in the Primary scheduled as above)- authorized by FL Statutes 100.091- for four weeks after the Primary (that is, 5 weeks before the General Election). In 2001, however, temporary uncodified legislation did away with this "Second Primary" for the 2002 Elections only while subsequent legislation, adopted in 2004, did away with Section 100.091 altogether. Thus, Florida no longer has a "second ballot" or runoff Primary system and has joined the majority of the States of the Union in making their Primary "first past the post" (that is, nomination by simple plurality).
- (2007-2011) In each year in which a general election is held, a primary election for nomination of candidates of political parties shall be held on the Tuesday 10 weeks prior to the general election. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes cast in each contest in the primary election shall be declared nominated for such office. [FL Statutes 100.061]
- (2011-2013) In each year in which a general election is held, a primary election for nomination of candidates of political parties shall be held on the Tuesday 12 weeks prior to the general election. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes ... shall be declared nominated.... If two or more candidates receive an equal and highest number of votes ..., such candidates shall draw lots to determine which candidate is nominated. [FL Statutes 100.061]
- (2014-2019) ... a primary election for nomination of candidates of political parties shall be held on the Tuesday 10 weeks prior to the general election. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes ... shall be declared nominated.... If two or more candidates receive an equal and highest number of votes ..., such candidates shall draw lots to determine which candidate is nominated. [FL Statutes 100.061]
- (2019--) ... a primary election for nomination of candidates of political parties shall be held on the Tuesday 11 weeks prior to the general election. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes ... shall be declared nominated.... If two or more candidates receive an equal and highest number of votes ..., such candidates shall draw lots to determine which candidate is nominated. [FL Statutes 100.061]
Polling times All States
- Polls open: 7 AM local time
  Polls close: 7 PM local time
  The polls shall be open at the voting places at 7:00 a.m., on the day of the election, and shall be kept open until 7:00 p.m. ... [Florida Statutes 100.011]
  [NOTE: 10 counties in the western section of the so-called "Panhandle" are in the CENTRAL TIME ZONE-- the polls in these counties, therefore, open and close one hour relative to Universal Time (GMT) later than the polls in the other 57 counties of the State, which are in the EASTERN TIME ZONE]

Links Links to other web sites. These links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes.

State and Local Government Outline

Modified .