{"id":2321,"date":"2025-03-24T13:35:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T17:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/?post_type=article&p=2321"},"modified":"2025-09-15T16:41:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T20:41:18","slug":"restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/articles\/restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"Restricting Citizen-led Amendments Isn\u2019t Freedom"},"template":"","class_list":["post-2321","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","article_type-opinion"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Instead of adding more restrictions to an already difficult process, let\u2019s join together to fight for our freedom to have a say using the direct democracy promised to us by Florida\u2019s constitution.","featured_image":"","article_type":215,"authors":"","related_issues":[404,86,92,402],"related_work":[398,400],"location":12},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":true,"person":null,"name":"Amy Keith","role":"","phone":"","email":"akeith@commoncause.org"},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Published in the Orlando Sentinel<\/a>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nWhen Florida was admitted into the United States in 1845, our <\/span>first state flag<\/span><\/a> was adorned with a three word motto: Let Us Alone. <\/span>\r\n<\/span>\r\n<\/span>It\u2019s a simple concept, but sadly, one that is ignored too often by out-of-touch politicians who bow to the desires of their billionaire and corporate elite donors in order to intrude on our lives and put our freedoms at risk.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe good news is that here in Florida, our state\u2019s constitution gives We The People a way to fight back.<\/span>\r\n\r\nOur state\u2019s citizen-led amendment process has for generations empowered everyday Floridians to pass policies that improve our lives and strengthen our communities. Through citizen-led amendments, voters have raised the minimum wage, required transparency from our government, instituted universal voluntary pre-kindergarten and smaller class sizes, and protected our environmental treasures.<\/span>\r\n\r\nLet\u2019s also be clear: right now, the process to get an amendment on the ballot in Florida is already one of the strictest in the nation, requiring nearly one million signatures to get on the ballot and 60% support from voters to pass.<\/span>\r\n\r\nTo put a point on how difficult that 60% support is to obtain, Florida\u2019s original constitution, which was passed by the people of our state in 1868, only received 59.95% of the vote!<\/span>\r\n\r\nBut now, politicians and wealthy special interests are trying to rewrite the rules to further keep the power in their hands rather than letting the people have a say.<\/span>\r\n<\/span>\r\n<\/span>Governor Ron DeSantis and legislators in Tallahassee have offered a range of proposals this year with extreme restrictions on citizen-led amendments, attacking our ability to participate in our democracy. And they are fast tracking these proposals through the legislative process.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThat\u2019s wrong for Florida and a symptom of leadership that is more interested in their own political ambitions than listening to the people they were elected to serve.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nWe should empower the people to have more of a voice, not put more restrictions on it.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe beauty of our amendment process is that we don\u2019t have to agree on every amendment.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nI certainly have voted against numerous amendments and I\u2019ve supported a lot of them too. But my voice was directly heard on the issues, as were my neighbors. We can all agree that we deserve to have our voices heard through the ballot box.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWe don\u2019t need more restrictions put on our power by out-of-touch politicians who have forgotten who it is they truly answer to.<\/span>\r\n\r\nInstead of adding more restrictions to an already difficult process, let\u2019s join together to fight for our freedom to have a say using the direct democracy promised to us by Florida\u2019s constitution.<\/span>\r\n\r\nBecause our voices deserve to be heard.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u00a0<\/span>\r\n<\/span>Amy Keith is Executive Director of Common Cause Florida<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. <\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n "}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_add_component","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_add_component":null},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_work","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_work":{"heading":"Work","manually_curate":false,"work":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_related_articles","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_related_articles":{"heading":"Updates","button_text":"See all Related Articles","manually_curate":false,"articles":null}}]},"yoast_head":"\nRestricting Citizen-led Amendments Isn\u2019t Freedom - Common Cause Florida<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Instead of adding more restrictions to an already difficult process, let\u2019s join together to fight for our freedom to have a say using the direct democracy promised to us by Florida\u2019s constitution.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/articles\/restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Restricting Citizen-led Amendments Isn\u2019t Freedom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Instead of adding more restrictions to an already difficult process, let\u2019s join together to fight for our freedom to have a say using the direct democracy promised to us by Florida\u2019s constitution.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/articles\/restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause Florida\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-15T20:41:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-172725866-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/articles\/restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/articles\/restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom\/\",\"name\":\"Restricting Citizen-led Amendments Isn\u2019t Freedom - Common Cause Florida\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-24T17:35:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-15T20:41:18+00:00\",\"description\":\"Instead of adding more restrictions to an already difficult process, let\u2019s join together to fight for our freedom to have a say using the direct democracy promised to us by Florida\u2019s constitution.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/articles\/restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/articles\/restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/articles\/restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Restricting Citizen-led Amendments Isn\u2019t Freedom\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/\",\"name\":\"Common Cause Florida\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Restricting Citizen-led Amendments Isn\u2019t Freedom - Common Cause Florida","description":"Instead of adding more restrictions to an already difficult process, let\u2019s join together to fight for our freedom to have a say using the direct democracy promised to us by Florida\u2019s constitution.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/articles\/restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Restricting Citizen-led Amendments Isn\u2019t Freedom","og_description":"Instead of adding more restrictions to an already difficult process, let\u2019s join together to fight for our freedom to have a say using the direct democracy promised to us by Florida\u2019s constitution.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/articles\/restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom\/","og_site_name":"Common Cause Florida","article_modified_time":"2025-09-15T20:41:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1700,"url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-172725866-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/articles\/restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom\/","url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/articles\/restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom\/","name":"Restricting Citizen-led Amendments Isn\u2019t Freedom - Common Cause Florida","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-03-24T17:35:01+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-15T20:41:18+00:00","description":"Instead of adding more restrictions to an already difficult process, let\u2019s join together to fight for our freedom to have a say using the direct democracy promised to us by Florida\u2019s constitution.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/articles\/restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/articles\/restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/articles\/restricting-citizen-led-amendments-isnt-freedom\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Restricting Citizen-led Amendments Isn\u2019t Freedom"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/","name":"Common Cause Florida","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Common Cause Florida","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/2321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/2321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2566,"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/2321\/revisions\/2566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}