Electoral systems

Miami Commissioners Postpone City's General Election to 2026

JUN 28 2025·Updated JUN 29 2025

Story

Above: Miami City Hall. Image credit: Carl Juste/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

The Facts

Miami commissioners approved on Thursday postponing this year's election to 2026 in a 3-2 vote, with Christine King and Ralph Rosado joining the item's sponsor, Damian Pardo, while Joe Carollo and Miguel Angel Gabela opposed the measure.
Florida Politics
NBC 6 South Florida
This decision extends the terms of all current elected officials in the city of Miami, including term-limited Mayor Francis Suarez and Commissioner Carollo, by a whole year, leaving candidates who had filed to run for one of the three open seats in November — mayor, District 3 commissioner, and District 5 commissioner — in limbo.
Florida Politics
The Miami Herald
Titled "Same-Holding of City Elections; Straw Ballot," the approved amendment to Section 16-2 of the City Code also changes the date of all subsequent elections in Miami from odd years to even years. Ballot initiatives scheduled for 2025 have not been postponed.
Miami City Commission
The Floridian
Governor Ron DeSantis stated in a post on X that the proposal was wrong and that a swift legal response would be issued if or when the changes are enacted. Meanwhile, the Miami Herald reported that Mayor Suarez, who has veto power, lobbied for the postponement.
Ron DeSantis
Bloomberg.com
Politico
North Miami changed its election cycle to even years in 2022, with the Third District Court of Appeals affirming that the city had the authority to make the change. Similarly, Coral Gables made the same change in May — but that could be reversed.
The Miami Herald
Politico

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

This election postponement is nothing more than a power grab by politicians desperate to cling to office, one which Latinos in Miami know all too well. The Miami-Dade County Charter is clear that any change in an election date or a term of elected officials can only proceed by a vote of the electors; therefore, the enactment of this ordinance would violate the law.

Attorney General James Uthmeier

Establishment-critical narrative

Moving elections to even years is a common-sense reform that will dramatically boost voter participation and save taxpayer money, and one that is allowed by judicial precedent and Florida statutes — which supersede county and city charters. If there's anyone acting as a tyrant, it's those who want to silence anyone who disagrees with them on the interpretation of laws.