Florida, state, United States: Government, Politics, and Higher Education

In 1968, Florida adopted a new state constitution. The governor is elected for a term of four years, and the legislature has a senate of 40 members and a house of representatives of 120 members. The state elects 27 representatives and 2 senators to the U.S. Congress and has 29 electoral votes. Florida has generally favored Republicans in presidential elections, and since 1998 has elected Republican governors.

The state has authorized the creation of special governing districts that give to commercial entities certain rights usually restricted to elected governments. A special district approved for Disney World in the 1960s allows it to oversee land drainage, and its powers have since been vastly expanded.

Florida's institutions of higher education include the Univ. of Florida, at Gainesville; the Univ. of Miami, at Coral Gables; Florida State Univ. and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical Univ., at Tallahassee; Univ. of Central Florida, at Orlando; Rollins College, at Winter Park; the Univ. of Tampa and the Univ. of South Florida, at Tampa; Florida Southern College, at Lakeland; Stetson Univ., at DeLand; Barry College, at Miami; and Bethune-Cookman College, at Daytona Beach.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• The Late 20th and Early 21st Centuries
• Relations with Latin America and the Caribbean
• From Depression to Postwar Growth
• Land Booms
• Statehood, Civil War, and Reconstruction
• U.S. Occupation
• English Colonization
• Early Spanish and French Exploration
• Government, Politics, and Higher Education
• Economy
• Geography
• Facts and Figures

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