Florida.

[Blue_true]

I could go to the Florida board with this, but it is important that it get posted here.

I have watched people rip Florida voters and whine about elections being un-winnable for Democrats there. I also heard that race is a huge factor in Florida's elections. The picture is somewhat more complicated than the simplistic stuff that I have been reading.

On race and elections:
About 8.1 million voters voted in the Governor's race. DeSantis beat Gillum by just over 33,000 votes. Gillum got just over 4 million votes. The entire African-Anerican population in Florida is around 3.6 million, men, women, underage children, babies. Gillum got millions of votes from non African-American voters. Potentially tens of thousands votes in a democratic stronghold were invalidated because people mailed them when the MAGAbomber struck, they sat in a post office with no postmark.

We elected a female Democrat as Agriculture Commisioner, a very prominent position in Florida. That is the first time in I don't know when that we got a democrat in that job.

Bill Nelson lost by just over 10,000 votes. If the Miami-Dade Mail situation had not taken place, or people had chosen to go and in person early vote or vote in person on Election Day in Miami-Dade, Gillum and Nelson very possibly would have won. A similar argument can be made against able bodied people mailing in votes when Florida had 11 days of early voting that included TWO Saturdays and TWO Sundays.

In Florida, we democrats need to get smart about making sure out votes get counted. We clearly have the numbers to win.

People outside of Florida. If you can't give constructive input, can you at least lay off the bashing?

[safeinOhio]

1. Do you have voter referendums were

voters can can sign petitions to put them on the ballot?
If so, start one that states any citizen that is not allowed to vote or if their vote is not counted shall be exempt from all state and local taxes for a period of 4 years.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. I went swimming on Thanksgiving.

Needless to say I like living in Florida.

And we’ll be true blue soon enough.

[House of Roberts]

10. As of right now,

you're at least eighteen years too late.

[Staph]

3. Good luck trying to get some folks to stop bashing!

I'm from West Virginia. I understand your situation completely!

[Funtatlaguy]

4. Register ex felons and ex Puerto Rican's.

[cwydro]

28. There's another OP citing how the "ex Puerto Ricans" swayed the vote toward Scott.

And if you think ex felons are all gonna vote Dem, you’re wrong.

[Funtatlaguy]

31. I should have elaborated.

We need a concerted outreach to both groups to not only register them but to convince them to vote Blue. Gov Scott admittedly did a good job of courting the ex Puerto Rican vote.

[EarthFirst]

5. Yeah; but Florida Man...

In all seriousness; though...

I’m 110% with you my friend!

[NightWatcher]

6. Forget them. We know what's going on down here and we're working on it.

Plus did it snow in your part of Florida today?

Of course it never does. Worth it!

[ornotna]

16. I have some snow in my yard

*This is not my yard*



http://majikphil.blogspot.com/2017/11/florida-snow-races-north.html

[Honeycombe8]

7. Florida is a divided state. Better than being dark red, tho. But I don't like mail-in ballots.

For reasons that have become very clear in the mid-terms. I vote early, but I do it in person.

[Blue_true]

9. My question is will able bodied people that mail in learn from the situation.

I see no reason for an able bodied person to mail in a ballot unless that person is military or will be out of the state all of early voting and Election Day. It is a bad habit that some people need to end, because republicans count on it to cheat.

[Honeycombe8]

11. I agree. It's partly Florida's govt's fault. We can't mail in ballots here unless we show...

unless we show or swear we're going to be away, or are away, or are disabled or elderly or something. Able bodied people under a certain age who are in their district during early voting are not allowed to mail in a ballot. Louisiana.

I think it was that way in Texas, too, but I'm not sure.

[vsrazdem]

20. Most of our ballots in Arizona are mail in.

They provide a website to make sure your ballot was received and counted. They verify signatures and if there is a problem you will know and can correct it. There is no problem with mail in ballots, the problem is with the people that don't follow up to see if their ballot was counted. Until they have a national voter day, there is no way people are going to stand in line for hours in metropolitan areas and wait to vote. Oregon is all mail-in ballots and I don't see them having any Republican cheating problems.

[Blue_true]

27. Florida has in person early voting that ran 11 days including two weekends.

I early voted. The election turnout was heavy. Took me 20 minutes tops. BTW, that was my longest early voting session to date, others took maybe 10 minutes, if not 5-7 minutes. No reason for an able bodied person to not in person vote in Florida.

[Cha]

8. Bravo Blue_true! Thank You!

Very Encouraging and Inspiring!

[Blue_true]

12. Thank Cha. Hope you had a nice holiday. nt

[Cha]

14. Peaceful..

You, too!

[MuseRider]

13. I get you, I am from Kansas.

Screw them. Keep doing what you do. They make it harder, oh they certainly do but their need to bash and smash the rest of us around tells me that they either know they are not that damned great or they really did not get where they are by being smart.

Keep working, you are getting there quicker than I thought given the messes that you have had to deal with.

[recovering_democrat]

15. Florida also

Moved here from Georgia 5-6 years ago. Voted from 1963 to 2013 in Atlanta, suburbs of Atlanta, Coweta county and a few other areas of the state. Longest time in Clayton county. Why am I saying this? I have covered generally each and every city and county in which I voted, in ALL cases using voting machines, manual or electric In pitiful condition. Always too few so long lines especially in Presidential elections and numerous other pitiful conditions. Before Florida's election 2000 "chads" problem, from age 18 on, i checked to see how my entry was recorded. One time in the 1980s i had to demand a change because it was done wrong. Local officials helped me get it straight. My point? It is and has been bad for a long time people.

Since in Florida i registered as Independent. In GA, you can do this and vote in either party primary which has an impact on the choice. The bigger game in FL is you can only vote within the primary for the party for which you are registered. I refuse to align myself as a Republican just so i can vote AGAINST the worst of the Republican choices.

I have voted on mail in ballot and check carefully to make sure it was acknowledged. If genuine fraud happens it can be done by county machine or by paper ballot. Florida and everywhere else needs accurate, supervised, verifiable for every voter votes.

It is still better in Florida than Georgia was, but not good anywhere. It will be fixed when we make them fix it.

[LakeArenal]

17. Folks diss Wisconsin, too.

Tough being a 47/47% State.
But we edged blue and so did you guys.
I take it personally, but folks are mostly talking about voters not me specifically.

[superpatriotman]

18. No more mail-in ballots!

Vote on Election Day. Make it happen.

[Lisa0825]

19. This Texan sympathizes with you.

We have endured Texas-bashing for as long as DU has existed as well.

[bluecollar2]

21. Former Texan

District 12...

Florida District 26 now...

Feels good to finally cast a vote for a winner.

[blue-wave]

22. But how can outsiders help?

I have felt for years that something is wrong in Florida. Democrats should rule. That said how do we get the needed poll watchers, election attorneys and provide proper election training to everyone in that great state?

[Blue_true]

29. From what I see. The problem here is apathy and laziness.

Those allow republican ratfuckers to do their work. I live in a red county, absolutely never have I had a problem voting. But, I get protected because I am blue in a red county and I vote in person and early. If I were in a deep blue county, there would be reasons for republicans to block my vote, but I can counter that by using my head.

There is not much that an outsider can do but send money to the Florida DC. But the Florida DC need to continue improving on outreach and education of blue voters so those voters avoid republican tricks.

[DonCoquixote]

23. I can understand your rage

I really get tired of reading places that claim to be about supporting Democrats, yet almost every election year, some goon goes ahead and makes a joke about sawing off Florida, like in the Bugs Bunny cartoon that stopped being funny 15 years ago. I to get tired of a lot of self-righteousness coming from folks who are safe in their blue areas, who do not have to worry about fired, beat up, in some cases shot at four showing their blue nature, where some of this down here have had holidays, job interviews, and even attempts to get a damn hamburger at the diner ruined once the "red" folks sense that someone blue is in their room. For all those folks sipping their cappuccinos from the safety of the New York or California I can say that you do not know what it is like to be part of election where you know that you will be lied to, lied about and frankly if someone was to beat the hell out of you, people look the other way.

However my fellow Florida person, let's also face some very total facts. Yes we did a much better job of getting out the vote this time, certainly better than in fiasco years like 2000, or 2016. Yes even the GOP candidates knew that they want just by the slimmest of margins, and that is with their blatant attempts to make sure half the Democratic voters could not even vote, or using as the means like this "signature match" nonsense which is basically a dry run for Jim Crow's old poll taxes. Let's face it, this state does have some very deep, rooted sources of corruption that are going to make very sure that anyone to the left has to defeat cheating. Everyone from the cops, the churches, to the talk radio goons, and oh yes, the toxic combination of old Confederate sympathizers and asked Yankees. We have two very prominent breeds of malefactors here: the Confederates who frankly still think they will win the Civil War, and let's face it, they never stopped fighting it. The second is a sting to me, the ex-blue state retiree that is benefited from everything from public roads, to union wages, strong schools and economies that were not glorify piracy. Yet, these are people that will tell you that up north was some tax hell, where you could make a living, and that Florida is doing well by avoiding the sort of civilization that they not only enjoyed most of their lives, but that they use to get that nice retiree house in the first place.

And let's be honest, it does not help that our own Florida Democratic Party could perhaps use a bit more assertiveness, organization and resolve, and Andrew Gillum was a major step forward for the Democrats, because he ran a campaign where he did not apologize for being a liberal. Let's be honest, the folks we put against Rick Scott as governor were not as assertive as Andrew was. Indeed, while I know that you are tired of Florida being scourged, that does not deny the fact that the career of Rick Scott, and the success he is enjoyed, at our expense is a genuine light upon Florida. We need to ensure that our parties are organized enough so that we do not allow a Marco Rubio or Rick Scott to win elections, because both of them should have been laughed right out of the primary.

The one silver lining of the Trump years is that eventually the Republicans who will Trump so deep into their fabric will indeed keep the party, like some can serve it is eaten right down to the bone. However, we cannot count on common sense, and even if Donald Trump proven to have planned to sell Florida to the Saudi Arabians, there are still some here that will indeed love him when the news is full of crowds cheering Trump at the top of her voice, and carry the guns that are state allows people to walk around with, we have to realize that Florida is going to go ahead and get some bit of a reputation. It is no accident that we are one of the go to states that Trump loves to come to to get that adulation that is his addiction.

All the same, those of you blue states, do knock off the bugs funny jokes, or "this must've happened in Florida" jokes. If this country is going to be turned blue, a lot of it will be because a bunch of us Florida Democrats managed to turn things around, and that is something that we are working towards every year, and we are winning. It's going to be fun when the so-called "felon" vote is no longer an effective means for the GOP the band black people from voting, I am personally looking forward to the fireworks.

[Blue_true]

34. I live in a red county, but it is trending purple.

But still, I don't talk politics in public or have political stickers or sign in/on any of my property, that is just asking for it here. Now, if I were in deep blue Alachua County, that would be different.

Like you pointed out, we have work to do here, but we are making progress. Hopefully younger Cubans help us by not robotically voting republican like their parents and grands, that appears to be happening.

A lot of people look at the ex felons voting as a boost for democrats here in Florida, I am not so sure. Those people need to be engaged and kept up to date. One thing that I think would help is local democratic groups putting on periodic "picnics" that invite in the community around the picnic, at the picnic people can be educated about the issues that affect them and about voting issues. Just marginal gains for us will have an enormous impact, I really think republican voters in Florida are pretty much maxed out, the Dems aren't and we hold a roughly 300,000 registration advantage over republicans statewide.

[ashling]

24. Shhhhhh!

Everybody from Texas keep your heads down and keep moving forward.

Thanks Beto

[Awsi Dooger]

25. Very winnable state but ideology refuses to budge

That's always the category I look at first, and refer to all the time.

If we could get Florida to a 9 or 10% gap between self-identified conservatives and liberals, then we could win the state as long as our nominee wins the popular vote. But Florida remains in that 11% range, which means it is just outside true balance with the nation as a hole.

In midterms the electorate becomes considerably older and more white. But that's hardly an example of a state moving away from us, as others have pessimistically and cluelessly reported here. The GOP doesn't have to do as much in Florida to find its base or motivate its base.

Every two years things will get better in Florida, as the senior citizen block becomes less red and millennials vote more dependably.

I do think we need to find someone who can figure out Miami-Dade, which has been underperforming. Very complicated messaging in Miami-Dade because high percentage is Hispanic but not all of them are Cuban. Even the slightest mistake can cause an uproar. For example, Maxine Waters was scheduled to appear here in support of Donna Shalala and other Democrats, at a fundraiser. But that caused an immediate uproar. Waters said several things in apparent support of Castro over the years, and including after his death. That makes her the last person you should ever bring to Florida and especially South Florida during a campaign. It was astonishing that local Democrats didn't understand that. Waters' appearance was canceled but damage had been done already. There were numerous references to it in local television and newspapers.

[Cetacea]

26. Florida should be Blue. It was until Jeb won and promised his brother the presidency

Thanks for posting this. I'm tired of watching anchor people and "journalists" smirk when they talk about Florida. I don't find it particularly amusing, nor should anybody else. There is a serious systemic problem in Florida's election machinery.

Aside from a post by me and one or two news articles, the story of mail in ballots sitting at the Mail Bombers' favorite Post Office was largely ignored or buried. Thanks for bringing attention to it.

I don't know if Congress can do anything about State election practices but Florida really needs to be investigated.

[cwydro]

30. I lived in Florida for years; the bashers are just jealous.

Seriously, region bashers on DU are hilarious to me.

As though they live in some perfect place.

[Cetacea]

38. Check! eom

[Maeve]

32. Florida has a multiple-split personality

Parts are like the deep South, parts are progressive, parts are knee-jerk anti-communist, parts just old rich folk who like the climate and screw with the politics and the whole is topped with a somewhat corrupt government with a regressive tax system. You have some great people down there (my duaghters live in Orlando) and Northern states can be every bit as disfunctional (I live in Ohio, where our school funding was declared unconstitutional over 20 years ago and never has been properly addressed!).

You are an easy target but it is obvious there is a lot of work going on to change things. Good luck!

[Sancho]

33. I've been voting in Florida for 25 years...never missed an election...

I'm convinced that most (if not all elections) were actually won by the Democrats!

I've seen it all. DREs flipping votes (yes, I saw a machine do this), crazy undervote totals (this year was Miami, but I've seen it in Sarasota and other places), very weird results (where the Democrats win down-ballot contests, but barely lose the statewide or national election), mailed ballots found in the trash, ballots rejected due to the "signature" (yes, this happened to me), voters challenged for ID, and many, many polls that differed from the final total by just enough for the Democratic candidate to lose. The polls differ more in close races and in precincts where it's hard to challenge the vote (too many repubs counted in red counties, and too few Democratic votes in blue counties), so that there's no way to win the big elections.

A perfect example this year was the Agriculture Secretary who won this year was a Democrat while the Senator and Governor lose!!! No way - what happened was that the AS race was not hacked!! That plus a bunch of ballots without postmarks, thousands of undervotes, etc. The election is rigged.

Besides all the typical gerrymandering and voter suppression games, in Florida the repubs have rigged the counting, hacked the machines, or whatever you want to call it.

If it's a close call in Florida, there is no way to win here, unless there's a change in the system. It may happen in other states too, but in Florida the system needs to change.

[OrlandoDem2]

35. We need to cut our margins in red counties along I-75 and I-95.

And we need to ID and cultivate those who just gained the right to vote.

Our moderate Democrats lose by a razor thin margin in 2014 and 2016. Or progressives lost by a razor thin margin in 2018. Very frustrating!

[treestar]

36. Do you mind US bashing?

I am from a state that is too irrelevant to bash.

You know they don't mean you, or any of the liberals in the state.

Why be sensitive about it?

[mcar]

37. K&R