By Coral Gables Gazette staff

The Coral Gables City Commission voted unanimously Dec. 9 to authorize a city-funded voter education campaign ahead of a special mail-only referendum election next year, with officials emphasizing that all outreach will focus on voting procedures rather than advocacy.

Mayor Vince Lago introduced the item, calling it one of the most consequential discussions of the meeting and stressing the need to avoid ballot rejection due to technical errors.

“I think if somebody goes through the effort of filling out a ballot and mailing it back, we want to make it count,” Lago said. He added that improperly completed ballots — such as those missing required information — would not be counted, making voter education essential.

Focus on process, not advocacy

Throughout the discussion, commissioners and staff repeatedly drew a distinction between educating voters about how to vote and advocating for any ballot outcome.

“But what we’re putting forth as a city has to be about the process and we cannot get away from that,” Lago said.

The mayor said any advocacy related to the referendum would be conducted by him personally and not through city resources.

“The agenda that I’m going to drive personally is going to be an agenda that I’m going to spend a lot of personal money to ensure that I educate people to vote in a way that I think is in the best interest of the city, not of the commission,” he said.

Lago said he has spoken with Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia about producing an instructional video explaining how to properly complete and return a mail ballot. The video, he said, would not address ballot substance but would focus on avoiding technical mistakes that could invalidate votes.

“But what we’re putting forth as a city has to be about the process and we cannot get away from that. The agenda that I’m going to drive personally is going to be an agenda that I’m going to spend a lot of personal money to ensure that I educate people to vote in a way that I think is in the best interest of the city, not of the commission.”

Mayor vince lago

Key dates and ballot rules outlined

Coral Gables Communications Director Martha Pantin outlined the framework for the education campaign and the legal limits governing it. She said the city may only communicate information about the voting process, not the substance of referendum questions.

“The only information that the city can put out…is information about the voting process,” Pantin said. “We cannot talk about the items at all.”

Pantin said ballots will begin mailing by March 21, with a voter registration deadline of March 23 and a ballot submission deadline of April 21 at 7 p.m. She emphasized that registered voters will automatically receive a ballot and do not need to request one.

She also noted that ballots may only be returned by mail or delivered directly to the Miami-Dade Elections Department headquarters. “There is no drop-off boxes,” she said.

Ballot errors cannot be fixed

City Clerk Billy Y. Urquia explained that some ballot mistakes cannot be cured after submission.

“If you did not write the zip code on your mailing address, there’s no curing for that,” Urquia said. “If you forgot to write your address, if you forgot to write your name on the ballot, there’s no cure for that. So therefore, your ballot will not be counted.”

Signature mismatches, he said, can be corrected through an established cure process.

Commissioners raise neutrality and access concerns

Commissioner Melissa Castro asked how the city would ensure neutrality when explaining ballot issues.

“What I’m going to ask is that we stay in the middle, very neutral and we don’t lean to having the voter vote a certain way,” Castro said.

Lago responded that explaining what issues appear on the ballot is not advocacy, citing examples such as explaining when an election date change would take effect or how a salary referendum would function procedurally.

“It’s not one side or another,” Lago said. “It’s explaining the issue so that people understand what is before them.”

Commissioner Richard Lara said withholding information about ballot topics would confuse voters.

“If we don’t say what the issues are that are going to be teed up for the mail, what are we doing?” Lara said. “That would make no sense.”

Mail reliability and language access

Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson supported the education effort and said elections officials routinely inform voters what appears on ballots so they can prepare in advance.

“We do need more people participating in our elections in this city,” Anderson said.

Commissioner Ariel Fernandez raised concerns about mail delays and theft, citing resident complaints and personal experience. He urged voters to return ballots as early as possible and recommended delivering ballots directly to elections officials when feasible.

Fernandez also asked whether a local drop box could be installed. Urquia responded that it could not.

“The only place to drop off the ballot is at their office in Doral,” Urquia said, referring to the Miami-Dade Elections Department.

Commission approves education plan

Lago moved to authorize the education campaign, calling for multiple citywide mailers, a dedicated phone line, a centralized website, CGTV programming, and an instructional video featuring the supervisor of elections rather than city officials.

“This is a process-driven, fact-based campaign,” Lago said. “At the end of the day, we want participation.”

The commission approved the plan 5–0, including friendly amendments to clearly state mail-by deadlines and provide materials in English and Spanish.