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TO:WE CAN DO BETTER MIAMI PC
FROM:ROB SCHMIDT, INQUIRE
RE:CITY OF MIAMI SURVEY RESULTS – KEY FINDINGS
DATE:JUNE 5, 2025
Our recent survey of 400 likely general election voters (conducted 5/27/25-5/29/25) in the city of Miami shows voters are decisively in favor of moving city elections to November of even-numbered years and creating lifetime term limits. Support is widespread as majorities and supermajorities of all key voter groups are in favor of both proposals. There is no consolidated or threatening opposition to these proposals. Furthermore, support for moving city elections grows as voters are presented arguments both in favor and against – demonstrating the resonance and durability of this proposal.
- By a greater than two to one margin, voters favor moving city of Miami elections to November of even-numbered years – 63% Favor to 25% Oppose. This includes 68% of Republicans, 61% of Democrats and 60% of NPAs who favor moving the elections. By ethnicity, 65% of Cubans, 65% of Non-Cuban Hispanics, 61% of Anglos and 52% of black voters favor this proposal.
There is a proposal being discussed that would move city of Miami elections to November of even-numbered years – like 2026 and 2028 – when offices like President, Governor and Florida State Legislature are also on the ballot. Do you favor or oppose this proposal?
| Total | |
| Favor | 63% |
| Oppose | 25% |
| Unsure | 12% |
| NET FAVOR-OPPPOSE | +38 |
- Similarly, 62% favor creating lifetime term limits for city of Miami elections while 35% oppose. This includes 66% of Republicans, 58% of Democrats and 62% of NPAs who support lifetime term limits.
As you may know, there is another proposal being discussed related to city of Miami elections. Currently, there are term limits where elected officials can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms or eight consecutive years. However, elected officials who have served two consecutive terms or eight consecutive years can still run for the same position again if they are out of office for a period of time.
Do you favor or oppose a proposal that would create LIFETIME term limits for city of Miami elections, meaning that elected officials can serve in their position for a maximum of two terms FOR THEIR ENTIRE LIFE?
| Total | |
| Favor | 62% |
| Oppose | 35% |
| Unsure | 4% |
| NET FAVOR-OPPPOSE | +27 |
- We then proceeded to test messaging on moving the elections. Respondents were given a supportive and oppositional statement and asked again about the proposal. Support for moving the elections increased to 70% Favor/24% Oppose. Most notably, the intensity of support (the strongly ‘Strongly Favor’ response) increased from 34% on the initial test to 48% on this test – a 14-point improvement.
You will now be given two statements about this issue to move city of Miami elections to November of even-numbered years. (Choices Rotated)
(Some/Others) who support moving city of Miami elections to November of even-numbered years because it will significantly increase voter participation as these elections would now be held on the same day as other offices like President and Governor. This would save the city about one million dollars per election since they will not have to conduct separate elections anymore.
OR
(Others/Some) who support the current system where city of Miami elections are in November of odd-numbered years because it has been working well for a number of years and moving the elections would result in national and state campaigns impacting local elections and reducing resident input.
Knowing this, do you favor or oppose moving city of Miami elections to November of even-numbered years?
| Total | |
| Total Favor | 70% |
| Strongly Favor | 48% |
| Somewhat Favor | 22% |
| Total Oppose | 24% |
| Somewhat Oppose | 8% |
| Strongly Oppose | 16% |
| Unsure | 7% |
| NET FAVOR-OPPPOSE | +46 |
- Voters were then given a series of individual positive and negative statements about moving the elections. Two things were abundantly clear – 1) the positive messages were more effective than the negative ones and 2) the negative messages did not significantly drive up opposition as support was still a lopsided majority after voters heard these criticisms. After the positive messages, voters favored moving city elections by a 71% to 25% margin and after the negative ones, two-thirds are still in support – 65% Favor to 30% Oppose.
| Post Positive | Post Negative | |
| Total Favor | 71% | 65% |
| Strongly Favor | 48% | 43% |
| Somewhat Favor | 23% | 22% |
| Total Oppose | 25% | 30% |
| Somewhat Oppose | 7% | 7% |
| Strongly Oppose | 18% | 22% |
| Unsure | 4% | 6% |
| NET FAVOR-OPPPOSE | +46 | +35 |
BOTTOM LINE:
These numbers speak for themselves – moving city elections to November of even-numbered years and creating lifetime term limits are very popular. These are commonsense proposals as majorities of all voters favor them from the outset. Even more encouraging for the proposal to move city elections is that communicating the benefits significantly improves overall support and the intensity behind it while the negative arguments do not add many detractors at all. Should the Miami City Commission decide to move forward with these proposals, this survey indicates most of their constituents would be behind them enthusiastically.
Methodology: Inquire conducted a survey of 400 likely general election voters in the city of Miami, Florida from May 27th to 29th, 2025. A multi-modal approach was employed via live telephone calls and self-administered text messages in both English and Spanish. The live telephone interviews were conducted by professional bilingual interviewers with respondents contacted by both landline phone and cell phone. The text message respondents were sent a personalized invitation to complete the survey on a secure online platform. Interview selection was random and interviews were stratified by precinct, race/ethnicity, age, gender, political party registration and educational attainment to correlate with actual voter turnout from previous even-year November general elections. In order to qualify for this survey, voters had to have voted in at least one of the last four even-year November general elections. Additionally, all respondents had to indicate that they always vote, almost always vote or vote most of the time in November general elections. This poll of 400 likely general election voters has an accuracy of +/- 4.9% at a 95% confidence interval. The error margin increases for cross-tabulations. Totals may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding and refusals.
Demographic Summary
| Party | Total |
| Republican | 31% |
| Democrat | 37% |
| NPA/Other | 32% |
| Educational Attainment | Total |
| Less Than a Bachelor’s | 57% |
| At Least a Bachelor’s | 43% |
| Race | Total |
| White/Anglo | 22% |
| Black | 12% |
| Hispanic | 62% |
| Asian/Other | 4% |
| Age | Total |
| Under 35 | 20% |
| 36-45 | 18% |
| 46-55 | 15% |
| 56-65 | 18% |
| Over 65 | 28% |
| Gender | Total |
| Men | 46% |
| Women | 54% |
| Interview Language | Total |
| English | 56% |
| Spanish | 44% |
| Interview Mode | Total |
| Live Calls | 72% |
| Text-to-Web | 28% |
