Note that Florida congressional districts are considered single member districts, i.e., only voters in the candidates" specific districts may vote for the candidate. In essence, voters in Tampa have no bearing on the election in Miami or Jacksonville.
Within the state, Florida consists of 67 counties, each of which holds elections for its own governing bodies. The state legislature establishes the number of commissioners at 5 for each county, as well as alternate methods that allow for some larger counties to increase the number. With the notable exceptions of Miami-Dade and Duvall counties, all counties must submit to the state a description of the 5 commission districts for their county. Using the alternative method allowed, several of the larger counties have adopted mixed representation, utilizing a combination of single member and at-large districts. .
The three largest Florida counties in terms of black population are Miami-Dade, Broward and Duval counties. Table 1 shows the 2000 census figures for these three counties.
County Total.
Population Black.
Population Black % of.
Population.
Miami-Dade 2,253,362 427,140 18.96%.
Broward 1,623,018 325,305 20.04%.
Duval 778,879 214,473 27.54%.
Table 1: Florida Counties with the highest Black population.
Source: Office of Economic and Demographic Research, Florida Legislature.
2000 Census Data.
Not surprisingly, these three counties represent some of the largest urban areas in the state (Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville). In the case of Miami-Dade and Duvall counties, the consolidation of city and county government into one unit has resulted in a large county council that contains both single member district and at-large commissioners. These two districts tend to mirror the racial representation noted in Florida's US House of Representatives delegation as can be seen in Table 2, while Broward tends to understate slightly the representation for its Black population.
