After pushback, Pembroke Pines ballot cost estimate cut by more than $250,000
Broward County election officials have significantly reduced the estimated cost for Pembroke Pines to place questions on the November ballot after city leadership criticized the original price as “very steep.”
The revised estimate dropped from roughly $345,000 to $92,742 and would make it easier for the city to place charter amendments and referendum questions before voters during the Nov. 3 general election.
“We shouldn’t be paying close to $3 per registered voter in the city. We always understood that to be an estimate that was workable,” Vice Mayor Michael Hernandez told the Pembroke Pines News. “I’m happy that the estimate was brought down significantly.”
The city approved the revision during the May 20 city commission meeting. Under the revised municipal elections agreement between the city and the Broward County Supervisor of Elections Office, the estimated cost is at a rate of 75 cents per registered voter.
The estimate increases to $111,290.40 with one additional ballot page and $129,838.80 with two extra pages. The city’s estimated election cost is based on about 123,656 registered voters as of April 27, the document shows.
Hernandez said the Broward Supervisor of Elections Office revisited the calculations after Supervisor Joe Scott attended the city’s commission meeting on April 15, during which commissioners expressed concern about the cost of shifting municipal elections to November.
“I believe we should be making it easier for each of our cities in all 67 counties to add items to the ballot, so that the voters can have their say,” Hernandez said.
“$345,000 was very steep for one question. Just like I thought the $311,000 that we spent in March of 2025 on the bond referendum and the charter amendments was also very steep.”
Hernandez argued the formula the elections office used was almost “punitive” and unfairly penalized cities with more voters, discouraging smaller municipalities from putting questions on the ballot.
“That loss could be so prohibitive that they can’t exercise their democratic rights,” Hernandez said.
As for what the city wishes to place before voters, residents will have the opportunity to consider and vote on two proposed charter amendment questions and a possible General Obligation Bond referendum related to the city’s previously failed bond proposal.
Scott told the Pembroke Pines News that the revised estimate came after the office reevaluated its cost formula.
“As far as what changed, it’s what I think we’ve been doing, probably for the last few years here, is trying to get this right,” Scott said. “... This is sort of like a continuous process of trying to tweak and adjust to figure out what the right answer is.”
Because the county is already conducting the general election, Scott said the office determined cities should only be charged for costs directly tied to their ballot questions, such as additional ballot pages and related administrative work.
“One thing about this, the questions that the cities or the special districts are putting on the ballot is that that’s literally like the very, very last thing at the very, very end,” Scott said.
The supervisor said the office reconsidered several factors during the recalculation process, including administrative costs, inflation and how voter data is categorized within the county’s voter registration system.
Scott added that the office decided it would not charge cities that are only voting on candidates in November. He also said the office recently changed how voter totals are categorized after transitioning to a new voter registration system.
“We looked at it differently. We came up with a new paradigm for billing and that new paradigm for billing gave them this lower cost,” Scott said.
Scott said the revised formula resulted in lower costs for cities and that he does not expect additional charges before the November election.
“I currently have no intention whatsoever of looking at this again, at least until next year,” he said.
