A proposed Florida constitutional amendment to increase the homestead exemption to $250,000 is trailing among likely voters, according to a new St. Pete Polls survey conducted for Florida Politics. The measure has 45% support—well below the 60% threshold required for approval—with 30% opposed and 25% undecided.
Key takeaways
The poll points to a difficult path for Amendment 3, although the large undecided bloc leaves room for movement before Election Day.
- Support stands at 45%, compared with 30% opposition.
- The amendment needs 60% approval to pass.
- Republicans back it by a wide margin, while Democrats generally oppose it.
- Local-government revenue concerns have reduced support in earlier surveys.
- The poll surveyed 913 likely voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
Support varies sharply by party
Republicans support Amendment 3 by a 63%-to-17% margin, with 20% undecided. Independent voters favor it 40% to 32%, while Democrats oppose it 48% to 24%. Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds support the proposal.
The party breakdown is significant because Republicans hold an advantage of more than 1.5 million registered voters over Democrats statewide. The survey sample was weighted to reflect Florida’s active electorate: 42% Republican, 31% Democratic and 27% unaffiliated or affiliated with minor parties.
Voters remain divided across demographic groups
White voters support the measure 46% to 30%, Hispanic voters 45% to 31% and Black voters 41% to 29%. Men favor it 46% to 33%, while women support it 44% to 28%; women are also more likely to remain undecided.
Age is another dividing line. Voters ages 50 to 69 support the amendment 50% to 28%, and voters 70 and older favor it 46% to 22%. Voters younger than 30 oppose it 42% to 36%.
Revenue concerns weigh on the proposal
The amendment would eliminate non-school property taxes on homesteaded primary residences and raise the homestead exemption beginning in 2028. Critics, including the Florida Sheriffs Association, the Florida State Fraternal Order of Police and the Florida Professional Firefighters, warn that the change could reduce funding available to local governments.
Earlier polling showed how the wording of the question affects public support. A University of North Florida survey found 61% support when the potential impact on local budgets was not mentioned, but support fell to 45% after voters were told local governments could lose $11.86 billion in revenue. A James Madison Institute poll similarly recorded support dropping from 76% to 55% after tradeoffs were explained.
Undecided voters could determine the outcome
Among voters who have already made a decision, support is just below the 60% passage threshold. For the amendment to succeed, undecided voters would need to break roughly three-to-two in favor of it.
The St. Pete Polls survey was conducted Sept. 15-17 using automated calls and peer-to-peer text messages. Respondents were selected from Florida’s registered voter file and the results were weighted by party, race, age, gender and media market. Support ranged from 49% in Miami and West Palm Beach to 37% in Orlando; Tampa voters backed it 44% to 30%.