Opinion
June 29, 1951.
Appeal from the Circuit Court, Dade County, Charles A. Carroll, J.
Glenn C. Mincer, and Harvie S. Duval, Miami, for appellant.
J.W. Watson, Jr., Miami, and Mitchell Pershing, New York City, for appellee.
This appeal is from a decree validating bonds for municipal improvements. By appropriate ordinances the City of Miami provided for the proposed bonds. An election was duly called and held to comply with Article IX, Section 6, Florida Constitution, F.S.A. Thereafter the result of the election was tabulated and it appeared that there were 66,891 qualified electors residing within Miami who were freeholders. The tabulation of vote on the several issues disclosed: Proposed Bonds Favor Against
"Number of Number of Votes Votes Cast in Cast $2,750,000 Storm Sewer Improvement Bonds 29,548 5,327 $1,000,000 Street Improvement Bonds 27,624 6,042 $500,000 Street Widening and Extension Bonds 25,314 7,675 $500,000 Off-Street Parking Bonds 22,727 9,478 $500,000 Police Station and Jail Bonds 23,284 8,761 $500,000 Land Acquisition Bonds 21,618 10,076 $250,000 Swimming Pool Bonds 18,522 12,818" Without dispute, therefore, more than a majority of the qualified electors voted pro or con on the first two issues and less than a majority voted pro or con on the remaining five.Petition was filed to validate all seven issues and the state attorney by appropriate answer raised the question of whether a majority of the qualified electors participated in the election as required by Article IX, Section 6, Florida Constitution. The trial court held in the affirmative and the State has appealed.
This is the only question. In fact, there were seven elections combined together. The elector could exercise a choice of voting in any or all, or could abstain as he desired. It is quite clear from what is stated above that a majority did not see fit to participate in the last five issues. The principles stated in the case of State v. City of Miami Beach, 156 Fla. 546, 23 So.2d 720, rule this view beyond question.
The decree validating the $2,750,000 Storm Sewer Improvement Bonds and $1,000,000 Street Improvement Bonds is affirmed. It is reversed as to the remaining five issues.
Affirmed in part; reversed in part.
SEBRING, C.J., and TERRELL, THOMAS and HOBSON, JJ., concur.
CHAPMAN, J., concurs in part and dissents in part.
ROBERTS, J., dissents.
The majority opinion and judgment as prepared by Mr. Justice Adams affirms the validation of only two of the seven issues validated and approved in the Court below. I agree to the affirmance of the two issues submitted to the voters, but would go a step further and affirm the decree of the lower Court which validated each of the seven issues. I think a majority of the voters participated in the election as provided for in Section 6 of Article 9 of the Constitution of Florida. See State v. City of Daytona Beach, 160 Fla. 13, 33 So.2d 218.