We’ll hold back on the locker-room banter motif that defined a weekend that was likely to be blown away by mass destruction via Hurricane Matthew. What’s more important, especially after watching last night’s debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, is that you are engaged in a manner that can make a difference.
Following a request by the Clinton campaign to extend voter registration in order to make up for days lost at home during a natural disaster, our favorite (not favorite) Gov. Rick Scott has refused said extension. Wonder why? Google “Voter Suppression.”
Democrats are suing Scott, it should be noted, who has various weighty roles in the Trump campaign, even if he is trying to distance himself from the “Pussy Control” of Trump’s latest released gaffe. There are likely people walking your neighborhood streets in earnest trying to kindly register your suffrage as we speak, but in case you haven’t crossed their paths or checked your registration, here are some ways you, too, can affect the future of our country.
Oh, one way, really, but registering to vote is a HUGE step. Voting on Nov. 8 is step two. It’s pretty easy.
Most supervisor of elections offices are offering extended hours tomorrow, including Pinellas County, Hillsborough County and Orange County, so there are no excuses left.
Here are some tips from the mouth of Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles: If you’re registered to vote in another county in Florida, you can change your address up until Election Day, though you should do it sooner if you want a sample ballot. There are some spanners in the works involving the Florida Democratic Party’s lawsuit against the state that may push the registration deadline to Oct. 18, but today is Columbus Day, so the courts won’t even respond until tomorrow. Also in the suit is a plea to extend early voting, originally scheduled to begin on Oct. 24, to Oct. 16, which is causing some confusion among supervisors. There is training involved for poll workers and the crunch, like the hurricane, comes as an unexpected guest. Also, if you miss the 7 p.m. deadline in Orange County tomorrow, you can still have your forms postmarked that day at the Tradeport post office near the airport, though registration at the supervisor’s office is encouraged for obvious reasons: like, say, confirmation of filling everything out correctly.
[UPDATE: A federal court has ordered that voter registration be extended to 5 p.m., Weds., Oct. 12, as of 8 p.m. on Oct. 10.]
It’s going to be a bumpy ride, but you need to be part of it, whichever way your wind blows.
With some levity to add, Cowles recites the election supervisors’ prayer: “We don’t care who wins or loses, just win big.”
Watermark will have its election guide on the streets Oct. 20 replete with endorsements and bells and whistles. We’re excited! Aren’t you?
