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Republicans Block Ex-Cons from Voting In Florida
June 22, 2019 at 2:01 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
Bloomberg: "Florida's reputation as America's tightest — and wildest — swing state should stay intact, as a battle over felons' voting rights seems destined for the courts. At the least, it's increasingly looking like Florida's 1.4 million disenfranchised ex-convicts won't be the potent voting bloc they might've been."
"Seven months ago, almost two-thirds of voters approved Amendment 4, which restores registration rights to many felons. Florida had been one of three states, along with Kentucky and Iowa, where those convicted of a felony were permanently prohibited from registering without going through a lengthy clemency process, and many saw Floridians' vote as bringing the state into the U.S. mainstream. Only those convicted of murder and sexual offenses still are excluded."
Filed Under: Election Administration Tagged With: Florida
Trump Trails In Florida
A new Quinnipiac poll in Florida finds Joe Biden leading President Trump in a presidential race, 50% to 41%.
Other match ups:
Bernie Sanders 48%, Trump 42%
Elizabeth Warren 47%, Trump 43%
Beto O'Rourke 45%, Trump 44%
Pete Buttigieg 44%, Trump 43%
Said pollster Peter Brown: "Florida Republicans have won the last five major statewide elections, all by very close margins, but Sunshine State Democrats see these very early numbers as a sign that their losing streak might be coming to an end."
Trump's approval rating in Florida is underwater, 44% to 51%.
Filed Under: 2020 Campaign Tagged With: Florida
Amendment Makes Florida Felon Voting Records Secret
May 21, 2019 at 12:40 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
Daytona Beach News-Journal: "Voter registration records are public, as are felony criminal records. But a last-minute insertion into a bill that passed with overwhelming support on the final day of Florida's legislative session aims to keep the public from seeing felon voting restoration records."
"Lawmakers say the amendment protects felons from being singled out and harassed. But the change also makes it difficult, if not impossible, to track the progress of a November constitutional amendment that restored voting rights to more than 1 million felons."
DeSantis Says Two Florida Counties Were Hacked
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) "met with the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week to discuss the revelation in the Mueller report that 'at least one' Florida county had its election information accessed by Russian hackers in 2016," the Tampa Bay Times reports.
"On Tuesday, DeSantis told reporters that he had been briefed on that breach — which actually happened in two counties in Florida — but that he couldn't share which counties had been the target."
Judge Orders Assistance for Spanish-Speaking Voters
May 11, 2019 at 8:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
A federal judge is requiring 32 of Florida's 67 counties to provide election materials and assistance to Spanish-speaking voters before the 2020 presidential primary, NBC News reports.
The decision "comes after several civic engagement groups and individuals sued the state secretary of state and elections supervisors last year for what they say was a violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for not making available bilingual voting materials and assistance to the state's growing number of Spanish speakers."
Florida Will Make It More Difficult for Ex-Felons to Vote
May 8, 2019 at 3:13 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) "said he will sign a bill that would require ex-felons in the state, who were granted the right to vote in a referendum last fall, to pay all financial obligations before they can head to the polls," CNN reports.
Inside Trump's Plan to Win Florida Again
May 8, 2019 at 9:58 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
ABC News: "In 2016, with 100 days until Election Day, the Trump campaign's ground game in Florida was virtually nonexistent: Zero offices were up and running in the key swing state and little to no strategy was in place to maximize voter turnout. Nevertheless, thanks in part to major last-minute shifts in approach, the president flipped the state red, for the first time since George W. Bush won it in 2004, with just 1.2% more votes than Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton."
"This time, the reelection team is getting a head start to ensure Florida, the president's second home, isn't such a nail biter. The campaign has key staff already in place nearly a year and half before voters head to the polls in 2020 and thousands of volunteers ready to hit the pavement for the president."
The consensus electoral map shows Florida is a Toss Up once again.
Florida GOP Moves to Restrict Felons' Right to Vote
"In November, Florida voters approved a groundbreaking ballot measure that would restore voting rights for up to 1.5 million people with felony convictions. But the Republican-led Legislature voted on Friday to impose a series of sharp restrictions that could prevent tens of thousands of them from ever reaching the ballot box," the New York Times reports.
"In a move that critics say undermines the spirit of what voters intended, thousands of people with serious criminal histories will be required to fully pay back fines and fees to the courts before they could vote. The new limits would require potential new voters to settle what may be tens of thousands of dollars in financial obligations to the courts, effectively pricing some people out of the ballot box."
Filed Under: Election Administration, State House Tagged With: Florida
Florida GOP Pushes to Make Ex-Felons Pay Fees to Vote
March 22, 2019 at 9:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
New York Times: "A Florida House panel this week approved a bill that would require former felons to pay fees and fines before having their voting rights restored, prompting criticism from those who say it would undermine a new amendment that allows more than a million former felons to vote again."
"Supporters of the bill, approved by the Republican-controlled House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice on Tuesday, contend that it is meant merely to resolve questions over how to put Amendment 4, which voters approved in November, into practice."
Small Majority In Florida Won't Vote for Trump
A new Quinnipiac poll in Florida finds 51% of voters say they definitely won't vote for President Trump if he is the Republican candidate in the 2020 presidential race while another 31% say they definitely would vote for him and 14% say they would consider voting for him.
Trump In Trouble In Florida Poll
March 6, 2019 at 7:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
A new Bendixen & Amandi International poll in Florida finds just 40% of voters said they believed President Trump should be reelected, while 53% were opposed to a second term.
Rick Scott and Matt Gaetz Go To War
Politico: "After simmering behind the scenes for months, the conflict came to a boil when Scott accused Gaetz of witness intimidation for threatening Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer-turned-congressional-informant, via Twitter."
"Once a semi-secret rivalry, the relationship changed in January after Gaetz helped lead the transition team for Scott's successor, Gov. Ron DeSantis, and publicly criticized Scott for being disrespectful of the new GOP leader in Tallahassee."
Filed Under: State House Tagged With: Florida, Matt Gaetz, Rick Scott
Florida Split on Whether Trump Should Be Re-Elected
January 25, 2019 at 10:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
A new Mason-Dixon poll in Florida finds voters are nearly evenly divided on if President Trump should be re-elected, with 46% saying he should be replaced, 45% saying he should be re-elected and the remainder unsure.
Florida Halts Effort to Restore Voting Rights to Felons
December 5, 2018 at 12:18 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
"Florida voters spoke clearly four weeks ago: They restored the right to vote to most convicted felons who complete their sentences," the Tampa Bay Times reports.
"When it becomes Florida law in five weeks, an estimated 1.2 million felons will be eligible to rejoin the voter rolls. But at a statewide elections conference, it was obvious that confusion and uncertainty still hovers over implementation of Amendment 4."
"The state announced that it has stopped transmitting documents counties use to remove convicted felons from the rolls. One official said the issue requires more research on how to carry out the will of the people."
Nearly 3,000 Votes Disappeared From Florida's Recount
"Nearly 3,000 votes effectively disappeared during the machine recount of Florida's midterm races, according to election records, calling into question whether officials relied on a flawed process to settle the outcome of three statewide contests," the New York Times reports.
Filed Under: Election Administration Tagged With: FL-Sen, Florida
Florida Placed Some Polling Stations In Gated Communities
November 8, 2018 at 9:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
WLRN reports on one voting station that was moved to a building inside a private gated community that was previously housed at a community center.
Said one voter: "To even get in to the gate you needed to show an ID, before you even got to the polling place itself."
And it wasn't the only one: "Other sites across the state are seeing issues with access due to polling locations located inside gated communities with private security."
Filed Under: 2018 Campaign, Election Administration Tagged With: Florida
Florida Votes to Restore Felon Rights
"In one of the biggest Democratic victories of the 2018 election, Florida voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to restore voting rights to an estimated 1.5 million former felons, including roughly 500,000 African-Americans," USA Today reports.
"Elsewhere across the country there were progressive wins for the continued legalization of marijuana, a rejection of the conservative agenda in Oregon and more abortion restrictions passed in red states."
Inside Rick Scott's Plan to Pack the Florida Supreme Court
September 13, 2018 at 11:59 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment
Slate: "On Jan. 8, 2019, a new governor of Florida will be sworn in. On that same day, three of the Florida Supreme Court's seven justices will complete their final terms. Based on those facts alone, you might assume that the new Florida governor will have the opportunity to select these justices' replacements."
"That, however, is not at all clear—because current Republican Gov. Rick Scott has declared his intent to replace them hours before his term concludes. He is now moving forward with this plan to pack the court. And the only people who can stop him are the current justices themselves."
Filed Under: State House Tagged With: Florida, Rick Scott
Political Wire Straw Poll Results
Here's Who Has Qualified for the Democratic Debates