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Election Day Decisions Can Affect Life, Liberty and Pocketbook. Changes in the Florida Constitution can change your life. They can cost you money or lower your taxes, restrict your freedoms or broaden them, protect your values or violate them.

Want a say in all of this? Vote, but vote with authority. Know what the amendments would do and cast your vote based on the facts. Every proposed amendment has dedicated, sincere supporters and opponents. We present their arguments; you decide.

Learn about the amendment proposals here, where you will find explanations of the proposals along with arguments for and against them. Also included are links to the proponents and opponents of the constitutional changes, so you can consider contacting them for information on how to join their campaigns.

The voting booth is not the best place to learn about these complex issues

A voter who waits until Election Day to learn about one of the proposed constitutional amendments may not be satisfied with the information available at the polling station.

The ballot provides a title like this one from 2008's Amendment 3:

"Changes and Improvements not Affecting the Assessed Value of Residential Real Property."

And a summary:

"Authorizes the Legislature, by general law, to prohibit consideration of changes or improvements to residential real property which increase resistance to wind damage and installation of renewable energy source devices as factors in assessing the property's value for ad valorem taxation purposes. Effective upon adoption, repeals the existing renewable energy source device exemption no longer in effect."

The amendment did two things:

• Allowed the Legislature to pass a law against taxing homeowners for new storm shutters and other devices to harden homes against hurricanes, and some alternative energy devices such as solar panels.
• Deleted an old law that was no longer effective.

The details are in the actual amendment, which is 10 pages long.

All of the amendments have proponents and opponents who have reasons you should vote Yes or No, but none of that will appear on the ballot.

We have the information here, along with links to the major figures for and against the amendments and an explanatory section on the Florida Constitution, including its history and how it can be changed.

You will find many features designed to help you better understand the amendments and get involved in the discussions about these important issues, including:

• Neutral, in-depth analysis of each amendment slated to be on the ballot, including a synopsis of the measure and its history, points of view on all sides of the issues, key players and more.
• Amendments At A Glance – short synopses for quick reads.
• Links to relevant sites for each amendment, allowing for exploration in greater detail.
• Links to the major supporters and opponents of each amendment.

Understanding the process

You will also find a section rich in information about Florida's Constitution, its current articles, how it can be amended, and more. In addition to the resources outlined above, our site will allow you to join the conversations and debate about these issues:

• Discuss the amendments in our moderated forum.
• Add your opinions by taking our surveys.
• Submit news about your events, links to sites and other information.

The information available here has been gathered by the Collins Center for Public Policy, Inc., a non-partisan, independent, statewide organization devoted to helping Florida tackle its toughest problems.

What Happens Next?

Vote On Election Day: Tuesday, November 2, 2010

According to the Florida Department of State, as a registered voter you have the right to:

• Vote and have your vote accurately counted.
• Cast a vote if you are in line when the polls officially close in your county.
• Ask for and receive assistance in voting.
• Receive up to two replacement ballots if you make a mistake before your ballot is cast.
• Receive an explanation if your registration or identity is in question.
• Cast a provisional vote if your registration or identity is in question.
• Obtain written instructions to use when voting, and, upon request, oral instructions from elections officers.
• Vote free from coercion or intimidation by elections officers or any other person.
• Vote on a voting system that is in working condition and that will allow votes to be accurately cast.

Of course voters have responsibilities, too. The Department of State includes this list in its Registration and Voters' Guide:

• Familiarize yourself with the candidates and issues.
• Maintain a current address with the supervisor of elections.
• Know the location of your polling place and its hours of operation.
• Bring proper identification to the polling station.
• Familiarize yourself with the operation of the voting equipment.
• Treat precinct workers with courtesy.
• Respect the privacy of other voters.
• Report any problems or violation of election laws to the supervisor of elections.
• Ask questions if needed.
• Make sure your ballot is correct before leaving the polling station.

Remember, though, that these are guidelines, not requirements. You get to vote whether you meet them or not.

Taking a side; getting involved

Every proposed amendment has its strong supporters and opponents. Those organizations welcome the help, financial and otherwise, of concerned citizens who agree with their views. In our analyses of the amendments we provide their names, explain their arguments for or against and link to their Web sites.

The morning after

If the election results are not to your liking, consider working with others to make a change next election. Citizens can offer amendments any year, and so can the Legislature. Your own route to a change could run through the Legislature, or it could lead directly to a citizens' initiative. Here, you can read more about how to get a proposal on the ballot.

You can offer up an amendment with a citizens' initiative, assuming enough citizens are willing to sign a petition in favor. We have a page that will help explain the process.

The state Constitutional Revision Commission is not scheduled to meet again to consider amendments until 2017, but citizens can seek a Constitutional Convention through a petition drive. Such a convention would take a look at the Constitution as a whole and recommend whatever changes it deemed appropriate.

If you have been moved to consider the arduous task of amending the Constitution, here's a warning: Be honest and accurate in what you put on paper. The Florida Supreme Court will kill an amendment whose ballot information is misleading. The justices have made it clear that a proposal with "hide the ball" wording will be rejected.

"If a sponsor — whether it be a citizen-initiative group, commission, or otherwise — wishes to guard a proposed amendment from such a fate, it need only draft a ballot title and summary that is straightforward, direct, accurate and does not fail to disclose significant effects of the amendment merely because they may not be perceived by some voters as advantageous," the court said in 2008, when it removed Amendment 5, the tax swap initiative, from the ballot, ruling that both its title and its summary were misleading.

Books for Study

• "Florida Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials" by John F. Cooper and Thomas C. Marks Jr. (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 1992
• The Florida Constitution: A Reference Guide by Talbot D'Alemberte (New York: Greenwood Press, 1991).
• "Florida's Politics and Government" by Manning Dauer (Gainesville: University Presses of Florida, 1986).
• Symposium on the Proposed Revisions to the Florida Constitution-Florida State University Law Review, (Tallahassee: Florida State University Law Review, 1978).
• The New History of Florida" by Michael Gannon. (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1996).
• Revised Constitution of the State of Florida-the Florida Constitution Revision Commission (Tallahassee, 1978).
• The Florida Handbook 1995-96 by Allen Morris and Joan Perry Morris, (Tallahassee: Peninsular Publishing Co., 1995).
• Twenty-five Years and Counting: A Symposium on the Florida Constitution of 1968 — the Nova Law Review (Fort Lauderdale: Nova Law Review, Winter 1994).
• The Constitutions of the State: A State-by-State Guide and Bibliography to Current Scholarly Research by Bernard Reams and Stuart Yoak, (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Oceana, 1988)