Miami voters will decide Aug. 18 whether to move city elections to even-numbered years
Miami voters are scheduled to decide Aug. 18, 2026, whether to amend the city charter to move municipal elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years.
The proposed charter amendment is on the ballot for a City of Miami special election. It has not taken effect: city voters must approve the measure before the election-calendar changes can be implemented.
The Miami City Commission called the special election on the proposed charter change, which would align city elections with statewide or countywide elections beginning in the 2030s.
How the proposed schedule would change
Under the proposal, Miami general elections would shift to even-numbered years beginning in 2034. Runoff elections would shift to even-numbered years beginning in 2036.
The change includes a transition affecting officials elected in the 2031 and 2033 election cycles. Instead of four-year terms, those officials would serve three-year terms under the proposed amendment.
Those shorter terms are part of the proposed transition, rather than a permanent change described in the ballot measure. The city’s existing election calendar would not be changed by the referendum unless voters approve the amendment.
What happens before and after the vote
The Miami City Clerk was designated to deliver the certified resolution for the referendum to the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections. The certified-resolution process requires 45 days of lead time.
Aug. 18 is the next known decision point for the measure. If voters approve it, the amendment would take effect immediately, although the scheduled changes to general and runoff election years would begin later, in 2034 and 2036.
If voters do not approve the amendment, the proposed shift to even-numbered municipal election years and the transition to three-year terms for the affected 2031 and 2033 officeholders would not take effect.
No referendum result was available in the reviewed material as of Aug. 3, 2026, ahead of the scheduled special election.
Separate 2026 ballot proposal
The election-timing amendment is separate from the Safe and Ready Miami infrastructure bond proposal that the City Commission has also placed before voters during the 2026 election cycle.
That separate bond measure does not alter the charter-amendment question before voters on municipal election timing. For the election-calendar proposal, the ballot decision is whether to authorize the charter change that would eventually align Miami’s city election cycles with statewide or countywide contests.
Sources
- 2026 City of Miami Special Election – August 18, 2026, City of Miami
- Miami City Commission Approves Safe and Ready Miami Bond, City of Miami