Florida turnout hits 60.9%, second highest in 30 years, as Gov. DeSantis credits Amendment 3

Voter turnout in Florida's midterm election was 60.9%, the second-highest in the past 30 years, according to state figures.

Turnout was about 7 percentage points higher than in the 2022 midterm election and two points lower than in 2018, when Gov. Ron DeSantis was first elected.

"The turnout results, the percentage of turnout, and the enthusiasm of people wanting to vote just prove that we are doing the right thing," said Secretary of State Cord Byrd. "Over 8 million Floridians decided they were going to come out and choose the people that were going to represent them, whether it's at the local city level, the county level, the state level or in Washington, D.C."

DeSantis credited Amendment 3, the property tax measure he urged lawmakers to put on the ballot, with helping drive turnout.

"Had Amendment 3 not been on the ballot, you know, I don't know that we would have turned out the voters that we ended up turning out," DeSantis told reporters last Wednesday. "People wanted to vote yes on that. And then many of them ended up voting Republican later on down the ballot."

Of the 8.3 million Floridians who voted in the midterm, 7.94 million marked either "yes" or "no" on the amendment. It passed with nearly 62% of the vote and raises the non-school homestead property tax exemption from $50,000 to $250,000 over two years. Two other amendments on the ballot were rejected and drew about 100,000 fewer votes.

All 67 counties had turnout above 50%. Sumter County, home to The Villages, had the highest at 73.6%. Santa Rosa County, at the western end of the Panhandle, had the lowest at 51.9%. Jefferson County, east of Tallahassee, was the only other county above 70%, at 70.1%.

Other counties with turnout just above 50% were Hendry (52.4%), Hardee and Okaloosa (52.6% each), and Okeechobee (53.7%). Leon County was at 68.6%, Sarasota at 67.4%, and Madison at 66.8%.

Among more urban counties, Duval had the lowest turnout at 55.1%. Orange County was at 57.8%, Broward at 60.4%, Miami-Dade at 60.5%, Hillsborough at 63.2%, and Palm Beach at 64.9%.

About two-thirds of the 8.3 million votes were cast before Election Day, by mail or at early voting sites.

Machine recounts have been ordered in two races: a state legislative seat on the Space Coast, where a Democrat appears to have beaten the incumbent, and a congressional seat that Republicans are holding in South Florida.

The state Elections Canvassing Commission will confirm the unofficial results Nov. 17.