A Leon County judge was set to hear arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit challenging the ballot language of Florida’s proposed homestead property tax amendment, one of three legal challenges filed against the measure ahead of its scheduled November 2026 vote, according to Spectrum News 13.
The amendment, formally titled “Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes” and approved by the Florida Legislature during a June 2026 special session, would substantially expand the state’s homestead exemption for non-school property tax levies. If approved by the required 60% of voters, the exemption would rise to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with the amount indexed to inflation starting in 2029. The changes apply only to the non-school portion of property tax bills; school district levies are unaffected.
The lawsuit before the Leon County court was filed by Save Our Voters From Misleading Ballot Language, a group whose members include former state Sen. Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg and former U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, along with several former South Florida mayors. The group is not seeking to remove the amendment from the ballot outright; instead, it is asking the court to order changes to the ballot’s title and summary language, which it argues is politically slanted. At issue is the title itself β plaintiffs argue “Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Tax” implies voters will face excessive taxes if they reject the measure, and that the summary fails to adequately disclose the potential financial impact on local governments or acknowledge that the amendment does not guarantee funding levels for services like schools and first responders.
“We expect the judge to rule relatively quickly,” attorney Jamie Cole said. “The judge is basically going to look at the ballot title, look at the summary and say, ‘Is it fair? Is it neutral? Is it accurate?'” Two additional, separate lawsuits raising similar ballot-language objections have also been filed, including one brought by former Key Biscayne Mayor Michael Davey and former South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard.
Under Florida law, if a court finds the ballot summary legally defective, the remedy is not removal of the amendment from the ballot but a required rewrite of the language by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office ahead of the November election.
What it means: The core dispute is narrow and procedural β whether the ballot’s wording is neutral, not whether the tax policy itself is sound β and even a plaintiffs’ win would likely produce revised ballot language rather than block the vote. For real estate markets, the amendment itself carries meaningfully larger financial stakes: a homestead exemption increase to $250,000 by 2028 would materially reduce property tax bills for owner-occupied homes statewide if voters approve it, a change that would compound with other recent Florida affordability-focused reforms RealtyWire has covered this year.
What to watch: The Leon County judge’s ruling on ballot language, expected relatively soon per plaintiffs’ counsel, and whether any revised language affects voter approval odds ahead of the November election, where the measure needs a 60% supermajority to pass.
