Monica L. Elliott | Published on 7/19/2021
It was great to be out in public again on the Fourth of July – first for the City of Weston’s parade and then for the City of Miramar’s Independence Day event! Thank you to Katy Syed and Linda Bloomfield for helping me to educate voters. I know they were as excited as I was to finally be set free! If you are interested in voter registration, education, and get out the vote efforts, contact Andrea Sleeper (andslee2@gmail.com), who is our League’s Voter Registration and Education Coordinator. You do have to be a League member to register voters.
Registering Voters
Joining the League is about more than registering voters. In fact, our primary goal in LWV Broward, as related to voting, is Voter Education and Get Out the Vote (GOTV). Yes, we register a few new voters each time we go out, but not very many as a high percentage of the eligible population in Broward County is registered. What we mostly do is update voter registrations, making sure addresses are current (so voters will receive requested Vote-By-Mail ballots) and determining if they want to register with a party.
The latter is important because the county has almost 360,000 voters registered as No Party Affiliation (NPA). Many voters don’t realize Florida is a closed primary state, meaning you cannot vote in a primary election unless you have registered with a party at least 29 days prior to the primary election. Thus, they are surprised when they are turned away at the polls, and this may be such a turn-off that they don’t come back for the general election or vote in nonpartisan municipal elections.
Educating Voters
Voting in primary elections is just one of the many topics discussed when we engage with the public. We also discuss the importance of local elections. These elected officials probably influence our lives as much, if not more, than state and federal office holders. We also inform voters about the Vote-By-Mail process and how to make sure their VBM will be counted. If they have college-age students who are not living at home, we will also explain the voting options available for their children.
Get Out the Vote
We use an important fact to demonstrate the importance of every single vote being counted. Just over 450,000 registered voters in Broward County did NOT vote in the 2018 election for Governor. The vote difference statewide between the two candidates was 32,463! Those numbers usually get their attention.
2021 Special Election
After the March 2021 municipal elections, we thought we would have a whole year to regroup and plan for the 2022 elections. With Rep. Alcee Hastings’ death, we are now preparing for the November 2, 2021 primary election for Congressional District 20. Since this district extends into Palm Beach County, we are working with the Palm Beach League to populate the Vote411.org website and prepare for Candidate Forums. The first forum will be on Tuesday, September 28, which also happens to be National Voter Registration Day, which brings us full circle. Voter registration is still important, as it is the first step in the process.
In League, Monica L. Elliott