Miami Casino Dream Could Be Crushed by DeSantis Plan to Limit Ballot Initiatives

Hopes of the Miami area eventually becoming home to a casino resort could be dashed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) effort to limit the number of ballot propositions that, if passed, lead to amendments to the state’s constitution.

The popular governor is moving swiftly. He called legislators back to Tallahassee on Monday for a special session, and some media outlets report that he’s applying pressure to leaders in both Republican-controlled chambers to act quickly on his proposal to alter how petition drives morph into ballot referendums in the third-largest state.

Under draft legislation released by DeSantis’ office, groups seeking to change the constitution couldn’t collect signatures through the most traditional method: approaching people in public with a clipboard and a pen and asking them to sign a petition,” reports CNN. “Instead, each Floridian would have to individually request from their local elections office a form to fill out and sign expressing support for the initiative.”

Current Florida law stipulates that if an organization seeking to amend the state constitution collects 900K signatures for their cause, their ballot question can be put before voters. That’s relevant to the gaming industry because in 2018 — the year in which DeSantis won his first term as governor — Voters in Charge successfully led the Amendment 3 drive, which took the power to award new casino licenses away from lawmakers.

DeSantis Could Ruffle Trump’s Feathers

There’s speculation that DeSantis’ attempt to make it harder for citizen-led groups to put ballot propositions before Florida voters could rankle President Trump, a Florida resident.

That theory largely centers around The Trump Organization owning Trump National Doral, a golf resort in the Miami area. The business group, which is led by the president’s sons Donald Jr. and Eric, attempted to procure a gaming license in 2021.

The effort to bring a casino to the Miami region was met with opposition from Miami Beach residents as well as from Republican megadonor, Citadel founder Ken Griffin. Last year, Griffin bashed the idea in an op-ed for the Miami Herald, noting Florida’s economy is thriving with significant contributions from the Miami region and casinos could do more harm than good on that front.

DeSantis Seeking to Restore Petition Integrity

DeSantis says he’s looking to bring integrity back to the petition drive process in Florida. The governor has previously said that many of the signature collectors are paid staffers of special interest groups, adding that Florida’s constitution “should not be for sale to the highest bidder.”

In recent years, Florida lawmakers have proposed bills including provisions about the distances relative to Hard Rock casinos in which new gaming venues could open. That’s one of the reasons Miami is coveted by operators. A casino there isn’t viewed as a geographic threat to an established Hard Rock property.