FORT MYERS, Fla. —
Over the past several weeks, political advertisements have dominated the airwaves leading up to the election, with many of them revolving around Amendment 3.
While those who work in public service have made their opinions known, Gulf Coast News wanted to find out how everyday Floridians are feeling about the amendment.
Reporter Evan Dean hit the streets of downtown Fort Myers with a whiteboard to take a straw poll before the real vote.
The question is simple: Will you vote to increase the Homestead exemption?
Some people answered without hesitation, while others said they needed to do more research into the topic before casting a vote.
Even among friends of the same group, opinions on the topic were split.
Tim Ferguson, who owns Enjewel Boutique in downtown Fort Myers, believes Amendment 3 moved too fast and without good planning.
He’s voting no in November and said the community will regret it if it passes.
“Although we all would like to see lower taxes, I’m not willing to forgo community services and resources,” Ferguson said.
Before long, results from the straw poll revealed that ‘no’ votes like Ferguson’s were the minority opinion.
“I’m going to vote yes,” one man said near the Arcade Theatre. “Going from $50,000 to $250,000 in two years is going to mean a substantial reduction in that tax.”
Another man outside a restaurant said he thinks increasing the exemption will be good for Florida residents.
“With how expensive it is for insurance and stuff like hurricanes… there’s a lot of out-of-pocket expenses that you don’t really see coming,” he said.
It’s a small sample size, but the choice in the straw poll was clear: 73% of people said they’ll vote yes on Amendment 3, while just 27% said they’ll vote no.
Gulf Coast News posed the same question online, and more than 100 people weighed in. The results were similar to the in-person vote.
66% of people said they will vote yes, while 34% of people said they’ll vote no.
At least with the group of people we polled, the chance for homeowners to get money back in their pockets outweighed questions and concerns over lost tax revenue.
“We all want our police and fire and EMS to hang around,” one man said. “But I’m confident that those of us on fixed incomes, the net net would be an improvement.”
Amendment 3 needs 60% approval to become law.
If you would like to learn more about the issue, Gulf Coast News has put together a special broadcast about Amendment 3.
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