Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Charter commission drops August primary, keeps November general and moves runoffs out of Thanksgiving week
Summary
The Miami Lakes Charter Revision Commission adopted revised election timing, removing a mandatory August primary, keeping the general election in November and directing any runoff to a December date to avoid the Thanksgiving week low‑turnout problem. The body debated two models — top‑two advance vs. 50%+1 win — and split before choosing a modified 50%+1 approach with date fixes.
The Miami Lakes Charter Revision Commission voted on May 4 to remove a mandatory August primary from the town charter and to keep the general municipal election in November while directing that any runoff be scheduled in December rather than during the Thanksgiving week. The change follows months of discussion about turnout, cost and the timing of runoff contests.
Commission Chair Leisotto pressed for aligning key election steps with higher‑turnout dates and said the goal was to “get more people to vote” rather than rely on a low‑participation, off‑cycle runoff. Commissioners considered two alternatives drafted by the town attorney: a top‑two primary model…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
