Voters sue to enforce Miami’s new lifetime term limits, boot Frank Carollo from runoff

Miami voters who just capped term limits in office are already in court to make it stick.

Three Miami voters have filed an emergency verified complaint to force immediate enforcement of the city’s newly approved lifetime term limits and to halt any steps toward printing runoff ballots until eligibility is resolved.

The result, if the court acts on the complaint, would be candidate Frank Carollo’s removal from the Dec. 9 runoff ballot, as Carollo already served two full terms on the Miami City Commission from 2009 to 2017.

Carollo, who is not mentioned in the complaint, is currently bound for a runoff against restaurant manager Rolando Escalona for the Commission’s District 3 seat, which Carollo’s brother, Joe Carollo, has held since 2017.

Plaintiffs Victor Milanes, Oscar Elio Alejandro — who ran unsuccessfully this year for the Miami Commission — and Alex Almirola are seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to implement Referendum 4, which voters approved Tuesday to establish lifetime term limits, measured retroactively.

The complaint, filed with the Miami-Dade Circuit Court, names the city of Miami, City Clerk Todd Hannon, Miami’s Canvassing Board, and Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia as defendants.

Judge Peter Lopez has been assigned the case.

“Miami voters spoke clearly when they passed Referendum 4: they want to end the revolving door of politicians cycling through office and set clear lifetime limits on elected office applied retroactively as stated on the ballot measure,” the plaintiffs wrote in a joint statement.

“Allowing a candidate who has already served two full terms to continue in a runoff would directly undermine that mandate and risk nullifying the very reform voters just enacted.”

The complaint, viewable below, asks the court to declare Referendum 4 “effective upon certification” of Tuesday’s results — expected Nov. 7 — and to enjoin the City Clerk and Supervisor of Elections “from taking any steps to determine candidates in or print ballots for the Dec. 9, 2025, runoff election” until post-election eligibility challenges under Florida Statute 102.168 can be brought.

As it was written, Referendum 4 provides that no person who was elected or appointed two times, excluding times when elected to fill a vacancy, can be eligible for re-election to that office during their lifetimes. The measure, which passed with 79% voter support and goes into effect “immediately,” applies retroactively.

By most readings, that would disqualify Frank Carollo from the runoff and either replace him on the ballot with Alejandro, who placed third in the race, or clear Escalona’s path to victory.

Timing is the crux. Because statutory post-election challenges cannot be filed until results are certified Nov. 7, the motion asks the court to pause any action finalizing runoff fields or printing materials to avoid listing ineligible candidates and confusing voters.

The plaintiffs are represented by Juan-Carlos “J.C.” Planas, a former state lawmaker who works as an ethics and elections lawyer, and Natalie Kato.