Pembroke Pines advances plan to move municipal elections to November. What to know
The Pembroke Pines City Commission voted Tuesday to move forward and begin the process of letting voters decide whether to move municipal elections from March to November, following an extended debate over voter turnout, cost and partisanship.
The discussion was proposed by Vice Mayor Michael Hernandez and would place a charter amendment before voters on the November 2026 ballot.
After bringing up Broward County Commissioner and former U.S. Florida Senator Nan Rich to the podium, Hernandez said the change is being driven by low voter participation and the city’s lack of civic engagement, pointing to the March 10 municipal races for Districts 1 and 4.
“We paid $147,400 for both elections, roughly $73,000 plus for my race and for Commissioner (Thomas Good),” Hernandez said during the March 31 meeting. “My race had about 9% turnout. ... I’m very happy I earned 76% of the vote. I’m not complaining about that, but I actually wouldn’t have minded winning by less if you had more participation.”
Under the proposal, the commission would have to approve the ballot language before sending it to Broward County Supervisor of Elections Joe Scott for legal sufficiency. If cleared by the Labor Day deadline, the question would appear to voters in November.
Hernandez said the shift would reduce the city’s costs and mentioned a memo from the Supervisor of Elections stating that candidate-only municipal races will no longer incur standalone expenses beginning in November.
He also emphasized the change must go to voters, opposing the approach that Miami took last year, when the city attempted to move its elections without voter approval and was blocked in court.
“It’s a cost savings for our city, but most importantly it’s just common sense,” Hernandez said.
Still, placing the charter amendment on the ballot would cost the city about $2.79 per voter, roughly $340,000, and would require voters to approve extending all five current commissioners’ terms by eight months.
Hernandez pointed to other Broward cities, such as Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood, that moved forward with the change.
Mayor Angelo Castillo, who opened the meeting with his State of the City address, said he had a “thorn in his mind about the partisanship” when it came to this change, but that it reflects changing realities.
“The numbers have changed and the world has changed and we must change with it,” Castillo said. “And while I still have misgivings about being nonpartisan ... we belong on the ballot with the other officials that people want to elect in November. The time has come for this.”
Commissioners debated whether aligning with higher-turnout November elections would increase civic participation or introduce a new stream of challenges.
Good argued that March elections were made to insulate local races from national politics.
“What’s really more important is that in a March race, it’s a lot easier to convince somebody that I’m there to serve them, not because of any other reason other than they are a citizen of this city,” Good said.
Commissioner Jay Schwartz argued that the switch could increase campaign costs and invite more special-interest spending with a larger voter pool, making grassroots efforts more difficult. He called for more data and public input.
Commissioner Maria Rodriguez supported the change, saying low-turnout elections can give too much influence to a small group of voters. She said even though November races may be more challenging, candidates willing to put in the work can still connect with a broader group of residents.
Commissioners directed city attorney Sam Goren to draft an ordinance and ballot language for consideration at the next commission meeting on April 15 and to coordinate with the Supervisor of Elections’ office on logistics, costs and public outreach.
They plan to invite members from the supervisor’s office to join them at the next city commission meeting.
Residents can tune into the April 15 meeting by watching the livestream on the city’s YouTube channel or attend in person at the Charles F. Dodge City Center, 601 City Center Way.
This story was originally published April 1, 2026 at 1:37 PM.
