MIAMI — A three-judge panel heard arguments from attorneys representing the city of Miami as officials appeal a lawsuit overturning a 3-2 June city commission vote to move November’s commission and mayoral elections to coincide with the 2026 general election.
A judge sided with mayoral candidate Emilio Gonzalez on July 21 after Gonzalez’s legal team contended that the city’s vote to postpone the election could only be done by Miami voters, an argument backed by Florida’s attorney general, who said the move was unconstitutional.
“This is about democracy and the fact that we’re here speaks allegiance about how our voters are being disenfranchised,” Gonzalez said outside of the courthouse on Tuesday.
Watch oral arguments here
While critics have pointed out that such a move buys current elected officials, like term-limited Mayor Francis Suarez, an extra year in office, city officials have said the election-date pushback would increase voter turnout by coinciding local races with state and federal ones.
Outside of the courthouse Tuesday, Suarez said moving the elections would “save millions of dollars for the citizens” and believes such a move would increase turnout from 15% to 70%, which he described as “healthy for democracy” and “good for the city.”
“We feel confident that the trial court made a mistake and that the Third (District Court of Appeals) will reverse that decision,” he said.
July 21 ruling:
In court, attorneys representing the city continued to argue that the commission is lawfully able to move its candidate elections from odd to even years without a public vote — because it was an amendment to an ordinance, not its city charter, which the panel pointed out is essentially a municipality’s constitution.
On several occasions, the judges pushed back on the city’s reasoning — one described it as a “semantic sleight of hand.”
The panel was expected to rule on the appeal as soon as Wednesday.
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