Florida was originally part of the Solid South, as Democrats overwhelmingly won state and federal elections during the hundred years following the Civil War.
[1] However, in 1937, the requirement to pay a poll tax was repealed by the state legislature, allowing poorer Floridians to vote.
This coupled with industrialization, urbanization, and a growing tourist industry in the mid-20th century that attracted Northern retirees, contributed to the state becaming electorally competitive earlier than the rest of the South.
In 2022, Republicans won their largest statewide victories since Reconstruction and neared 60% of the vote.
It has disapproved casinos (outside of sovereign Seminole and Miccosukee tribal areas) three times: 1978, 1986, and 1994.
In the 118th Congress, eight of Florida's seats are held by Democrats and 19 are held by Republicans, with one seat vacant: Florida's two United States senators are Republicans Rick Scott and Ashley Moody, serving since 2011 and 2025, respectively.
Article VII, Section 1(d), Florida Constitution, provides: "Provision shall be made by law for raising sufficient revenue to defray the expenses of the state for each fiscal period."
These two provisions, when read together, form the basis for the balanced annual budget requirement.
[11] The General Revenue portion of Florida's state budget is funded primarily by sales tax, while local governments also have their own respective budgets funded primarily by property taxes.
The annual state budget is constructed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor who administers it.
[12] In 2008, the state was one of four that had fully funded pension systems for government employees, including teachers.
[18] The $70 billion budget for 2010–11 contained the following allocations:[20] In 2011, undocumented immigrants were estimated to cost the Florida government $700 million.
There are 5,641 undocumented in Florida prisons at an average cost of $18,980 annually, for a total of $107 million.
[23] In 2011, as a result of Governor Rick Scott's executive order, the department required that all workers be verified as U.S. citizens with e-verify.
[24] Florida is one of several states where the courts are required to be involved in every step of the foreclosure process.