Think Happy Thoughts

I woke up Tuesday morning to a bad thought that if I waited until Election Day itself - November 5th, kiddos! - that I could show up to my precinct and find out the local Republicans somehow submitted a fake ballot in my name and take away my vote. 

Paranoid as I was - they can't really do that, right? - I decided to forgo the tradition of voting on the day itself. I went to the Bartow Early Voting location to go ahead and get my vote in the machine.

At the Polk Street Community Center

As I talked about earlier, there were key matters to vote on this 2024 election cycle, above all making sure donald "34 Felony Counts" trump won't cheat his way back into the White House and voting for a saner, competent Kamala Harris:

BALLZ TO THE WALZ, AMERICA

I made sure to vote for the Senate seat:

FCK YOU, "MEDICARE FRAUD" SCOTT

I made sure to vote Democratic for the Congressional, State legislative, and county seats by the by.

And of the six Florida Amendment referenda, here's my votes YES on Three (decriminalizing marijuana) and Yes on Four (Abortion rights for women).

Damn, the ballot sheets are longer than my arm...

Let there be no confusion: This is about letting
women control their own bodies instead of the
Culture War wingnuts

Part of me is worried I didn't ink that completely filled...

So now at least for myself, it's all over except waiting for the ballot counts.

And GODS HELP ME, I'm still stressed about it. And I know I'm not the only one. 

So let's try to look for the positivity reflected in how there is a better mood among Democratic and Left-leaning Independent voters heading into November. Anne Laurie over at Balloon Juice shared some good vibes via a post on Substack from Kevin Dillon:

My texts are full these days of “are we gonna be okay?” and, then, a beat later, “are you really sure?” Over and over, my answers are basically “yes” and “as sure as I can be...”

So, to save some time and in the spirit of “to hell with it,” here in one place is what data and my gut tell me I believe: she’ll win and outperform the polls. Trump will be rejected, as he has been in every election since he first became president - 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 - either where he was on the ballot directly or by proxy through candidates closely identified with him, including in multiple of the same swing states we’re all obsessing over now.

His campaign’s relentless focus on anti-trans ads will come to be seen as an epic strategic blunder, in addition to unforgivably morally repugnant. We’ll acknowledge that the supposedly disciplined, well-planned campaign to beat Biden never quite found its footing ever again once the candidate changed. We’ll remember that his one and only, and very close, win in 2016 came when he was, despite controversy, new and fresh and funny (to his people at least - and no small amount of journalists.) He was energetic, went EVERYWHERE, and was able to at least occasionally give the impression of being in on the joke and enjoying himself. In 2016, he had an underrated strategic ambiguity on what kind of Republican he was, whether promising to protect Social Security or maintaining a wink-wink ambivalence on abortion, aided by voters’ inability to truly imagine him doing the most outrageous things, or the horror of Roe being overturned. In his own way, he had a kind of disciplined, positive and constructive message about what he would do: make America great again, build the wall, drain the swamp. In 2024, he has none of it, much less the vitality and clarity of eight years ago.

We’re going to see afresh what’s been staring us in the face since 2022: Dobbs was a political earthquake, with aftershocks still reverberating out. It wasn’t just digested and processed in 2022 and now behind us. As much as Roe catalyzed a new movement for its opponents, brought in new groups of voters (many crossing old partisan lines), and energized activists for decades; Dobbs is doing the same here and now.

To the extent poll error happens, I believe it is likelier to be in her favor than his after eight years of pollsters obsessively focused on how to not miss Trump supporters. We are all understandably so traumatized by 2016’s loss, and so many were surprised by 2020’s margin (though notably, not the Biden campaign itself) that, even though there are fairly convincing theories for how each happened, we’ve become hostages of superstition and anxiety - even when we can’t quite articulate a good theory for why it would happen this time. And all this despite the various modeling geniuses gently and repeatedly reminding us there’s no iron law that every error happens in the same direction cycle after cycle, indeed that it might be a little weird for it to happen three cycles in a row...

We have to remind ourselves that trump's NEVER won the popular vote, that he's incredibly unpopular among the broad range of voters (even among some Republicans). We need to remember that unpopularity hurts him against Harris whose popularity numbers have gone up during the final stretch of the campaign (much like Obama's in 2008). I've said before people tend to vote for the candidate they like the most - it's not rational but emotional - and similar to Biden (who was popular then) outperforming trump in 2020 Harris can do the same this 2024.

Like Dillon noted, a lot of us on the Center-Left of the political spectrum were emotionally scarred  watching trump grab the Electoral College away from the popular vote winner Hillary (her unpopularity due to decades of hathos was a major factor in her loss). A lot of us still can't comprehend how 74 million people voted for trump in 2020 after all of the incompetency, aggression, open graft, and failures of his administration; and we're arguably terrified of the possibility he's convinced even more to vote again for him after his felony convictions and civil court fraud and rape findings.

We have to look to the sizable number of Republican voters showing signs of refusing to vote for trump again. There is hefty opposition by former GOP officials and former members of trump's own Cabinet, publicly denouncing him on a scale never before seen. We never had a similar number of aides and Cabinet Secretaries do this to the likes of Nixon or Ford or Carter or Reagan or Bush the Elder or Bill Clinton or Bush the Lesser or Obama; even when those administrations - especially Dubya's considering the failures of the economy and the mismanaged War on Terror - were clear disasters. These are things even disconnected voters will notice as they make their choice.

We need to enjoy the reality of how Harris and her Veep co-runner Walz are conducting themselves in this last mad dash to the finish line: With joy and exuberance and feistiness and hope. We need that hope to convert into turnout by the millions - higher than the 81 million Biden secured in 2020 - and to regain a kind of spiritual balance we lost 8 years ago.

Let's get the vote out, everyone, and vote for the right things: Vote for sanity and stability in the White House with Kamala. Vote for women's rights and freedom from wingnut cruelty. Vote for better representatives in our legislatures both state and federal. Vote FOR the bright future of 2025 and not the darkness of a trumpian dystopia.

(Hands still shaking while drinking iced tea) I'm calm... I'm perfectly fine... I AM A CENTER OF PEACE AND SERENITY! Ahem. Sorry.

Early Voting Begins in Florida 2022

Okay, for the midterms we're closing in on Election Day (November 8th 2022) and that means Early Voting areas are going to open up in most counties across Florida.

Not every county starts on October 24th, so check your county's elections website to confirm start times and locations. For Polk County, it starts today and goes to November 4th, so check for your closest Early Voting location which should cover most major cities.

Every vote matters. Every vote matters especially if you're voting Democratic. Yes, my position on which party to support - FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT VOTE REPUBLICAN - has been pretty much established since 2004. 

Please, truly, for the love of God do NOT vote for a party that openly promotes racism and homophobia the way the Republicans have, do NOT vote for a Republican Party that wants to turn women into second-class breeding cattle. Do NOT vote for Republicans who have been running the state of Florida since 1998 and have FAILED repeatedly to clean up our ecosystems and our waterways, and  FAILED to fix our overwhelmed homeowners insurance system (even when they had a special session this year to address that matter, they did little and passed anti-gay laws instead). 

Republicans have been in charge of Florida for 20-plus years: They have mismanaged this state to where condos are collapsing and schools are falling apart and our beaches stained by Red Tide, yet all they do is push culture war bullshit on us. We honestly cannot afford another cycle of their misrule.

We have an opportunity to elect good leaders for Florida, like Charlie Crist for the Governor's seat, like Val Demings for the Senate, a chance to elect more Democratic Congresspersons in spite of DeSantis' overt gerrymandering to screw up our state's representation. We can turn away from the ever-flailing Far Right extremism of the Republicans to a more moderate, more responsive Democratic governance. We need to, Florida.

We need an honestly strong Blue Wave this 2022, and that means getting the vote out for every Democratic and progressive-leaning Independent across this state. Let's go, voters. Turnout matters. Your vote matters. Let's do this.

Florida Primary for 2022 Midterms, It's On

In some Florida counties they've already started early voting, but by today (Saturday August 13) they all should have the Early Voting setups for the party-level Primaries for this year's midterms.

SO GET THE VOTE OUT, DEMOCRATS AND LEFT-LEANING INDY VO... well, the thing about Florida is that the primaries tend to be closed to party-only, but there WILL BE items on the ballot - non-partisan races and local referenda - that Independent voters should cast ballots for as well.

You need to check your county's Elections website (check the state's elections directory here) and find out where the Early Voting polls are located. It helps to vote early to make sure you avoid the long lines that tend to form on August 23 for the Primary, and then November 8 for Election Day itself (for that, YOU NEED to be registered to vote by October 11 in Florida, so git 'er dun). 

Your county Supervisor should also provide Sample Ballots - search your Precinct info - so you can plan ahead (read up on the ballot issues and on the non-partisan candidates because they may actually be very partisan off-the-record).

They've crunched the timeline on Early Voting to where you get only a week to do it, otherwise plan ahead to stop at your local precinct to vote and get your choices known.

DO IT, FLORIDIANS. VOTE. These elections matter. Holding corrupt Republicans who haven't done a thing for our environment or our schools or our lives since the 1990s: That all matters. Ballot referendums regarding our schools and our health care and our rights: That all matters. Please get out the vote, and PLEASE for the LOVE OF GOD stop voting Republican.

I Voted Early Today in 2020

I found out today that not EVERY county in Florida has early voting going on this week, but today October 19 Polk County did start the early voting and so after work I drove from the library to the Bartow Community Center where they have it set up from now until Sunday November 1.

The parking lot was relatively small and it was packed, but the line was short enough that I was second in line and got to see the poll volunteer within a minute. Got the three-page double-sided scantron form printed out and I inked in my choices (BIDEN/HARRIS) and then fed the pages into the scanner, got my I VOTED EARLY sticker, and left.

I admit seeing a handful of pro-trump hats and even a trump mask, but the turnout of voters were a mix of ages, genders, ethnicities. I did not think to ask how the lines might have been earlier in the day, but considering Bartow is a relatively small town (population around 17,000 last I looked) a packed community center is a healthy sign of turnout.

Took the obligatory selfie outside:

By the by, the Early Voting location is doubling as a Vote-By-Mail ballot drop off, hopefully should be the same at other locations.

So I've committed my vote. Deep exhale. Yes, I know there's still madness in the next two weeks to survive, plus the madness post-election when the war over the actual counting commences. I've done my part in this regard. Placing my faith in the system that the machine will count me true, placing my hope with the county elections officers to do their jobs fair and honest.

Now I got to keep doing the job that the rest of us need to do: Advocate for massive voter turnout for the Democrats across the board, every state ballot every local referendum, get the DAMN vote out. Vote Blue in Florida. Vote Blue in EVERY state and DC, America. We can get the votes to throw that corrupt trump out of the White House and make every other elected Republican answer for their corruption and deception.

It's GO time, America. Save ourselves, Vote Biden...

Early Voting This 2020

With all the storm and fury about trump trying to sabotage the mail-in balloting, and also threatening to send armed "observers" to the polling precincts on Election Day, it would make sense for Americans to consider the Third Option of voting: The Early Voting period.

As you can see on the Ballotpedia listing of Early Voting - by state, by starting date and closing date - not every state or territory hosts one. But many do, and to the seven or eight readers I have on this site, you might want to check to see if your state allows it, when you can go do it, and spread the word to everyone you know to make sure the voting gets done.

For meself, Florida begins Early Voting next Monday October 19 and I hope to do it then, well before the ending period of Sunday November 1 (before Election Day itself). BE AWARE that not every state doing this ends on that day: some are closing it up October 30, some are taking it right up to Monday November 2 just before the Big Day itself.

I don't always do Early Voting, as a traditionalist I've tried voting on Election Day itself. I had done it once or thrice when I knew ahead of time I was going to be too busy that Tuesday (one time I did so because I had volunteered to work a Broward precinct in 2002, when county employees were asked to help out with a new electronic balloting system to replace The Chads).

But this year for several reasons Early Voting seems to be the smarter move to make. Depending on where you are at and how the pandemic is going, you might find it safer to go to the Early Voting location. Given the risks of catching the coronavirus, I would prefer making sure I got my vote in before it was too late.

There are other reasons I would - and often do - encourage Early Voting to my fellow Floridians. One of the biggest hassles on Election Day is going to the specific precinct you're assigned: A lot of people have trouble finding those sites even WITH the address information sent to them on their Voter ID cards. Meanwhile, the Early Voting sites are usually in common public locations - libraries especially, but also the county government centers, courthouses, civic centers - that are easier to find. 

Also, while precincts are designed to be close to your homes, some people are too busy traveling to and from work to ever find the time to get in line to vote (and even though workplaces are required to let you go for an hour to vote on request, the driving distances back to your neighborhood and the wait times at the precincts make that hard). Most Early Voting places tend to be closer to your workplaces, thus easier to get to before/after you put in your time at the office.

However, this year Early Voting is a great idea because of what trump and the Republicans are threatening to do to disrupt and suppress the balloting. Not just the actions trump has already done to hurt the Postal Service to hamper mail-in balloting (and despite the promises that he and DeJoy have fixed their earlier damage, I don't believe them), but the threats being made to send "Observers" who just happen to be off-duty law enforcement and/or private security (aka Mercs) into heavily minority precincts as pure intimidation tactics.

Thing about Early Voting: most locations are not in heavy minority areas but usually in central public areas that draw in voters from every ethnic, age, and economic demographic. Where you can send "observers carrying sidearms as their Second Amendment right to" into local precincts on Election Day where few media outlets will cover the day's balloting - and get away with intimidating minorities into walking away without casting their votes - if Republicans try that at the Early Voting locations - fewer in number thus easier to cover for news reports, as well as more packed with White voters that Republicans wouldn't want to alienate with their bullying - they won't be as successful. It's also worth noting that trump's campaign people didn't get their "observers" lined up in time to cover the Early Voting places: They seem too focused on the Election Day itself.

I would argue to Blacks, Latinos, College-age/Youth voters most likely facing intimidation at the precincts on Election Day: Early Voting would be a smart alternative with fewer risks of having your ballots challenged.

I would also point out that more often than not the Early Voting places will have working ballot machines, as opposed to the oft-reported broken equipment that crops up in the poorer, more crowded precincts we've ALL been witness to since the 2000 Election debacle. How many news reports, every Election Eve, do we see of long lines across South Florida where precincts were reduced to a single electronic touchscreen for 10,000 voters to use? You would think after 20 years of this, the Elections supervisors would have bought enough working equipment and hired enough staff to repair them, but no.

I'm not the only one to notice. Betty Cracker at Balloon-Juice - a fellow Floridian - is paying attention to Georgia, a state that started Early Voting today and has a worse record with their voting machines than Florida. She's noticing how even with Early Voting, in certain counties with large Black populations, the Republican-controlled Elections offices are screwing up to force long lines even now:

I get that fuckups can happen and polling places can be unexpectedly overwhelmed. But we see this in the same neighborhoods in the same states every year. It’s obviously a voter suppression tactic, and the perpetrators need to be held accountable for violating people’s most fundamental right as citizens. Enough of this bullshit.

If this seems like bad news, it kind of is, except that the good news is everyone is paying attention and there's bound to be greater pressure to get the machines working properly while there's weeks to go with the Early Voting efforts.

There's one other reason to encourage Early Voting: While they don't release the tallies until Election Day night, the Early Voting numbers are often ready to go the second the precincts officially close in most parts of the state. 

(HINT: In case you DO vote on Election Day, do not get discouraged if you're still in line by the time of the "official" cutoff. The election officials are REQUIRED to let everyone who is in line to vote stay in line and get their chance to cast their ballot even if it means staying open past midnight... which is why some states with those long lines don't complete counting votes until days later).

If the early results gleaned from the Early Voting lean towards Biden, trump can't scream - or cough, all things considered at the moment - that he's winning. Oh, he'll try but he won't have the numbers to prove it. he'd have to wait just like the rest of us, and maybe in a few states he'd have to change his tune and demand the mail-in ballots be counted if he's losing without them.

So if a shit-ton of Democrats and Indy voters supporting Biden do Early Voting in large enough turnouts, hopefully that will give the regular (traditional) Election Day voters something to add to.

Just remember, peeps, GET THE DAMN VOTE OUT FOR BIDEN/HARRIS and EVERY Democrat on the ballots. Mail-in, Early, or E-Day itself.

Keep that Blue Wave rolling upward.

Early Voting Guide to Florida 2018

Okay, just to remind people that some counties already have Early Voting going like Broward, some starting on Wednesday October 24 like Pasco, and some counties won't start until Thursday October 25 like in Polk, SO PLEASE CHECK YOUR COUNTY ELECTIONS WEBSITE TO CONFIRM DATES AND LOCATIONS.

Early Voting helps make sure you don't get stuck in long lines on Election Day itself, because some precincts - in suspiciously enough urban / minority areas - get overwhelmed due to few working ballot machines. >:-(

Just remember these tips:

1) The Republicans are going all-out in their voter suppression efforts, so even if you are told you got knocked off the rolls you still have the right to request a Provisional Ballot and a receipt that you voted.

2) Make sure you show up with the right IDs: A voter registration card and one of several forms of Photo ID to stop the Republicans trying to deny your right to vote.

3) Once you get a ballot and vote, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT VOTE FOR ANY REPUBLICAN IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. You may have to do some research on the down-ballot votes for county offices and judgeships, so find the county GOP headquarters and document the names on their street signs and AVOID VOTING FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. If you're stuck without a named alternative, hope for a Write-In line and coordinate with your neighbors and friends on a person you think will do a better job. If you have no alternatives at all, leave that spot blank.

3a) If you need a refresher on the State Amendments to vote For or Against, here's my review. If anything, PLEASE VOTE YES on Amendment Four and PLEASE VOTE NO against Amendments One, Two, Five, Six and Ten I thankye.

4) Be prepared for an insane Election night, as voter suppression could well mock how the polls are tracking results. The one advantage against voter suppression is TURNOUT: The more people who vote, the harder it is to subvert the numbers. They can't afford to make the results look 53 percent GOP - 47 percent Dem if the polling says it should have gone Dem by 55 percent. Too many angry people will be asking too many questions. So they can't suppress too many people all at once, and they can't hack all the machines to flip ballots.

Turnout Beats Suppression. SO PLEASE VOTE.

Florida: The Last Weekend to Early Vote for 2016

This is FRIDAY! FRRRRRIIIIDAAAAAYYYYY!!!

But before you get out in the streets and clubs to party, just take a moment to get out the vote and VOTE EARLY if you can.

The last day to vote is set for Sunday November 6th. I would definitely check with your county Supervisor of Elections office to confirm the dates and times, as well as confirming where to go for Early Voting. Since I live in Polk, best I can do is show you this county's. Note to voters: You GOTTA Early Vote in YOUR county, no crossing the county line from Pinellas to Pasco to get your vote in! Okay? Okay.

After this Sunday, the next time to vote will be TUESDAY NOVEMBER 8TH.

JUDGMENT DAY.

Not that there's a lot of pressure on this or anything but uh FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T VOTE REPUBLICAN.

Ode To the Pasco Mosquito Control Board Elections of 2016

I have a good idea that a lot of Pasco residents here in the Sunshine State are trying to find out about the candidates for each of the seats on the 2016 ballots: Right now, my 2016 reckonings is the hottest article on my site for views and all.

Sad thing is, as I've noted on that article, there's little information about the down-ballot candidates. The local news is at best shaky - the Tampa Bay Times does not list any Pasco campaigns on their recommendations - outside of any headline-worthy scandals, so the suggestions I've put out there for voting for the Mosquito Control Board are quite honestly mere suggestions.

WHY I make a big deal out of the Mosquito Control Board elections is because it's a quirky kind of office to see holding open elections for seats - I don't see other counties holding elections for this - yet perfectly Florida in its focus - mosquitoes are a serious health issue down here - that it deserves mention.

It didn't help that in 2010, when I began blogging more current event politics on this site, that there was a serious amount of campaigning for the seats. I'm talking massive: The open seats each had like three or four candidates running, for some measly little part-time office that I was told met maybe three or four times a year. And by massive I'm talking tonnage of yard signs: a plethora of signage that even Presidential campaigns don't generate (was there a sign discount going on with the local printers or something?). There were twenty yard signs - I don't even think I'm exaggerating - for some guy named "Skeeter" compared to one sign for Rick "No Ethics" Scott.

For something happening in the midterms, in the middle of a Great Recession, to see no other yard signs but for Mosquito Control was a bit insane.

This is a photo from back in 2010 in front of the West Pasco Government Center where they host the Early Voting during the last two weeks before the big Election Day. Take a close look. LOOK AT ALL THE YARD SIGNS. I can tell you more than half of those signs - There's Griffin right up front! - were for the Mosquito Control Board.

The driveway ends at a roundabout where cars can drop off riders and stuff. There's a memorial there, and there is always an insane amount of signs there too:

This photo was taken early in the 2010 Early Voting cycle: I remember a day or three later there were so many yard signs there that someone decided to stack them atop each other to form a barricade. It went three signs high. It tipped over in a strong breeze. It was hilarious.

So anyway, in my reminiscing, today I had a reason to drive back into Pasco County for my dad's 80th birthday. I drove by an Early Voting line at the Land O'Lakes Library (shout out to my peeps) where it went out into the parking lot, so yeah it's busy this year. I realized hey, I haven't been back to the West Pasco Center in ages so I might as well swing by and see how crazy the signage is this year. It wasn't too far out of the way for me to drive.

Well, this is what I saw today:

There's the Roundabout for 2016. And... and... there's almost no signage compared to 2010. That driveway up to here had few yard signs lining the path.

What the hell happened?

I circled it, twice. I didn't see ANY signage for the Pasco Mosquito Control Board. I even asked the volunteer sign wavers hanging out in front of the building - at the safe 75 ft. distance from the doorway - why there wasn't any Mosquito Control Board signs, but nobody knew.

I guess Thomas Wolfe was right: You can't go home again.

Early Voting in Florida 2016 Elections

Monday October 24th is the start of Early Voting for the 2016 General Election.

So yeah, I've made my positions on the candidates well-known. (I'm not kidding. That post is blowing up the charts...)

I've made my positions on the state amendments well-known.

Now here's the thing I need from you. Vote.

Preferably I'd like you to vote with a modicum of sobriety and massive dose of sanity: that is, DON'T VOTE REPUBLICAN (unless the Democratic option is an honest-to-God disaster, I will grant you that). But you've got your vote and your voice and it's your responsibility to contribute to the civic discourse, and I figure a lot of you have already made up your minds. Still, I need to ask for the sanity bit.

Early voting is a good option to make sure you have a chance to get that vote in. The Election Day - Tuesday - is a rough day to get in to your precinct before or after you head off to work or deal with getting kids to school and all that. Precincts are sometimes difficult or out of the way for you to get to: Mostly close to home but nowhere near the route you take back and forth to work/school/places to go.

Granted, some states make it hard to use Early Voting: either by setting short number of days or hours you have a chance to go, or by keeping the number of locations to a minimum to force long lines of people willing to go early.

(This is also why more people are starting to go to Absentee/Ballot-by-Mail as an alternative)

Personally, I'm a traditionalist. I like the idea of voting on the day itself, and I plan ahead to make sure I can (lacking family responsibilities, I can get in early before heading to work). I was lucky most of my life I've been unusually close to my precincts (in New Port Richey it was a block across the street!). I think I voted early once - 2012 - on the General Election, mostly because I worried I would be busy that day. Did I blog about it...? Lemme check. Okay. I voted early on some Primaries... AHA! I voted early because of a Jury summons. It was the same jury summons that stuck me in a room with 150 people watching Pawn Stars for six straight hours (and they recycled the same episodes every two! I will NEVER watch that show again...).

This year is no different. Part of me wants the energy of the importance of my vote - getting up and putting my vote in to dump Trump for all time - to power me through the whole work day of "yeah yeah YEAH."

But I encourage people to get to vote when they can. I know how busy everybody else can get.

Just a reminder for people in my county, here are the locations for Early Voting. Most of Polk's major cities are hosting. Today's over with but there's Tuesday onward to Sunday November 6th. The polling places are open during the weekends, including TWO Sundays, so there's every reasonable time available to get this done. Otherwise, be like me and get the voting done on Tuesday November 8th.

Just to note I got my Sample Ballot in the mail. I need the reminder. We all do.

Your vote is your voice, and your vote is your power.

Get to it.

Early Voting Florida - Primary 2016

I have neglected a duty as a Florida blogger to report that Early Voting for the 2016 Presidential campaigns is already underway. We're coming up to the weekend part of the Early Voting where the single Sunday the polls will be open to vote before the official day of March 15.

Your county Supervisors of Elections should have listings of the nearest Early Voting polls. As I am in Polk County I will list ours.

Remember, Florida is one of the repressive states, so they'll need Photo ID as well as your Voter ID (and maybe DNA samples so bring a vial of blood just in case).

Florida is also a Closed Primary: you gotta be with a Party hosting a ballot to vote for it. So if you're like me - NPA No Party Affiliate - you've got nobody for the Presidential race to vote for. HOWEVER, be aware some cities and towns will host local votes for their own officials during this (most others will do so April 15th, so stay tuned for that) vote, so pay attention! Local elections matter too (Bartow in particular has one candidate who keeps running every election because he wants to go in and close every city office - from Parks to Libraries to Fire Department - down).

On the Primary day itself - March 15th! - be prepared to find your local precinct to vote, because the rules are strict about it: you gotta poll where they tell you to poll (Early Voting and Absentee Ballot Mail-Ins are exempt).

And so the seven readers of this blog are likely to ask "Gee Paul, I'm still kinda in the dark about who to vote for, so what's the sane choices for each party?"

You're asking ME (always sober, never sane) for tips? Aheh. I know up front the Republican/Conservative readers trolling this blog - hi, older brother! - will call me out on my hyperbolic conniption over how bad the remaining GOP field is, and I also know I'll get critics from the Democratic/Liberal readers if I don't back their horse 100 percent. Still, I will try to explain my arguments as clear and effective as possible.

For the Democratic ballot, there's the choice between Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O'Malley (he had filed before dropping out). So there's always a possibility of an O'Malley upset (stop hitting me). Seriously, there is a choice here between the Centrist Hillary and the Socialist Bernie. The fighting between the two factions backing both have gotten heated, so I'm bound to offend when I say: If I had to, I would vote for Hillary.

My arguments for Hillary come around to these points. She is experienced as both a legislator - twice elected Senator - and as administrator - serving as Secretary of State. For all the horror stories and hatred she receives - regarding her secrecy, her ambitions for higher office - I think her years of service have mellowed her. While I've cataloged her as an Active-Negative personality, that Aggressive side of her world-view to get things done may be key to breaking any Congressional opposition if the Republicans retain control of that branch (Obama's greatest flaw has been - until this last year when he no longer needs to deal - too sincere a need to get bipartisan work done, which allowed far too much obstruction to stall our public sector).

The Bernie backers - if any show up here - are likely going to rip me apart for ignoring Sanders' True Leftist bona fides. Please remember, I view myself at heart a Moderate: my Progressive leanings only lean so far. I respect Sanders' arguments against the Big Banks and I know damn well income inequality is a serious problem. And I know Universal Health Care is where our nation needs to go for our basic health care spending and costs to be better controlled. However, I worry about Sanders' numbers regarding his health care proposal: the math isn't working. There's every likelihood implementing such a massive shift in policy and costs will raise taxes higher than most Americans are willing to pay. And a sudden shift from one system to another will be difficult to pull off, creating more costs and damage to the health care infrastructure our nation can't afford at the moment. We just started ObamaCare, and need to give it a few more years of reducing the costs and increasing insured enrollees - and getting Red States to swallow their pride and accept Medicaid funding - to show that a regulated market system can be effective and expanded upon.

I know there's one big argument against Hillary: her controversies. A good number of Bernie supporters - and far too many fence-sitters - are worried about Hillary being a big target for scandals that could hurt her in the general election. Here's the thing: many of those "scandals" are mythical BS stories that have been dumped on her for 20-plus years by a proven faction of Far Right wingnuts who fear her more than even her husband Bill (and he's been President). Even the current "big" scandals surrounding Benghazi and her private email server... are turning out to be overblown, manufactured affairs.

Here's the thing: that damn Far Right Noise Machine is going to screech and throw fits at the Democratic nominee no matter who it is: Look at how they shredded John Kerry with BS stories. The wingnuts are going to attack Bernie for being a Secret Commie traitor as much as they'll go after Hillary for being a witch (NI!). I don't even count the possibility of a breaking scandal to hit or hurt Hillary in any way. Hell, I view it as a plus now: If Hillary has truly been this evil, this manipulative, all these years with a body count to rival Stalin's... and her attackers STILL haven't found any evidence that will stick in a court of law, then she's got the competency and Machiavellian skills to lead our nation.

Now, to the other side.

For the Republican ballot, it's still stuffed with the names of most of the candidates from January, meaning a lot of dropped candidates to disregard. Unless, if you like, you want to vote for Lindsey Graham bwhahahahahahahHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. :) Ahem. Okay. As of right now, the serious names to consider are Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump (Ben Carson has suspended his campaign but not officially ended it, but he's pretty much done).

I admit I am not a fan of any of them. My apostasy for the current mindset of the Republicans has me in a foul mood towards the whole party, so I know I'd be making a bad decision no matter what. If I had a choice on the ballot I'd fill in None of the Above on a blank space. If you put a gun to my head and demanded I make a choice... I still wouldn't, because you're making me choose either a quick death or slow death.

There are degrees of unlikable factors for me regarding each candidate.

Topping the list is Trump. I've got it as a Label hashtag: Trump Is a Con Artist. Of the remaining candidates, he is the one lacking any elective or political experience at all. To me as a Moderate that alone is a disqualifier: I want someone with experience and competency. Making him even worse has been his blatant racism against Mexicans, Muslims, Mandarins, and other Minorities. His statements are disprovable to the point of being lies. His attitude and willful ignorance are horrifying to see in someone positioning himself to represent this nation to the rest of the world. He's a bankrupting opportunist who cuts and runs the second he's not making any money on anything. Trump IS a con artist, whose con is selling himself and nothing else. In all seriousness, for the Love of God, DO NOT VOTE TRUMP.

The next scarier candidate for me is Rubio, in that he's the hometown "favorite son". Florida is his home base - as it was for Jeb? - and Rubio has got to be counting a lot on the local voters keen on having a Florida boy win the nomination. I know my brother - having lost Christie to support - was in a toss-up between Jeb and Marco a few weeks ago and with Jeb dropped out it likely means my kin is voting Rubio.

I wouldn't. Not on sentiment, and certainly not on Rubio's (lack of a) resume.

Whatever charm Rubio has to make the Beltway mainstream media treat him like a winner, he doesn't have it when it comes time to impress voters. He's flat, bland, or at worst robotic: Getting caught mimicking his speech cues as debate answers was a devastating blow to him. There's a reason Rubio is THIRD PLACE, people...

As for his record, his state legislative history is one of a hard-core Far Right Republican with little of a moderating, bipartisan stance. He won the Senate seat in a three-way race where the Democrat and Independent knocked each other out instead of him. And as a Senator, he did more grandstanding than he did any actual work. The one piece of legislation he IS known for - trying to set an Immigration Reform package that his own party quickly scuttled because their own wingnut base HATED IT - is one he dropped like a hot potato and fled from in horror, which doesn't impress a damn soul. He lacked the courage of any conviction there, save for his own future plans to run for President.

Anyone who thinks Rubio can appeal to a general electorate is overlooking the facts that Rubio has no solid record that moderates would respect, that Rubio is fully on-board with a Republican platform that is far more extreme Right than anything pitched since 2000 2004 2008 2012, and that Rubio's speeches cover a lot of talk about revamping the Constitution itself by purging the amendments most Americans view as vital to our civil liberties.

If any thought comforts me, it's the knowledge that if Rubio can't win Florida - which is Winner-Take-All - he's doomed to lose the delegate count. The polling tells us Rubio is almost half the percentages behind Trump, which is good except for the fact that Trump is leading WHICH IS BAD.

And then there's Ted Cruz.

No. Just. No. THAT. Should not happen.

That leaves Kasich as the fourth and final option, and pretty much the only one I would - if I really really really REALLY had to - check on the ballot. And this is me damning him with the faintest praise I can muster.

Where Kasich impresses me is the fact he has the solid resume of experience across the board: years in Congress as well as serving as Governor of a large state of Ohio. He has shown signs of brain activity. Of the remaining Republican candidates, he's the one most likely to actually respect the Federalist system of national governance with its checks and balances, and one who might - maybe - pursue a bipartisan approach to his administration if he ever gets to the White House. Essentially, he's the least-scary guy on the GOP hit list.

This doesn't excuse the scary things about him, though. Kasich is openly anti-abortion, a stance which centrists/moderates view with dismay. He's anti-Union to the point where you can't trust him to push a Jobs Bill agenda this nation STILL sorely needs. And he's still a full backer of the Republican platform of cutting taxes, cutting regulations, and cutting everybody off at the knees who's not already in the One-Percent Club.

So, there's my suggestions for the Closed Primary balloting. Hillary for the Democrats, Kasich for the Republicans, a night-time supply of crafted microbrews for everyone else watching the election results on the eve of March 15th. Oy.

State of Florida 2014 Midterms: Early Voting in Tamarac

Used to live here in Tamarac, when I worked for the library system between 1994-2003.  I'm visiting today for personal reasons - to absent friends - but needed a place to wait for the afternoon services and so as a librarian would I made my way to the local branch.

I forgot a lot of the Broward libraries offer themselves up for Early Voting polling areas.  Tamarac branch no exception.

What was nice was running into a set of volunteers for the local and state issues on the ballots: you know, the sign-wavers standing outside of the 75-foot perimeter away from the front door.  Especially a group of pro-Amendment 2 canvassers:

Big props to anyone and everyone who's taking the time to canvass the polling places anywhere out there in Florida (and all other states) this time of year.  This is civic participation, this is the free speech and public assembly the Founders wanted for their posterity.

Inside they've taken a whole corner of the library floor to set up the polling booths, with an elaborate queuing line into a meeting room where the optiscanners and ID stations are set up.  I don't think I can take pictures of it, only to tell you that they've got more polling booths set up here than I've ever seen at any other Early Voting spot in the last 12 years.  And this is just Tamarac: the other libraries must be set up the same way.  Have to expect a lot of people, I suppose...

It's a cloudy day today, threatening to rain and all.  Weather gets to be like this in late October in South Florida.  Still, today's a good day to GET THE VOTE OUT FLORIDA!  Don't forget to vote YES on 1, YES on 2, NO on 3, YES on Crist and NO on every Republican from Rick "I Ain't Testifying Today, Judge" Scott down.

Early Voting In Florida 2014, October to November. GET OUT THE VOTE, PEOPLE

Early voting for the General Election (Nov. 4th) begins today here in Florida.  Polk County (the state officially begins Oct. 25th, but some counties can go earlier if they want).

This is it.

This is the election to get Rick "No Ethics" Scott out of office, and to vote Charlie Crist back as a Governor we can trust.

This is the election to vote against every Republican on the ballot to break the corrupt power this party has inflicted on our state the last 15-20 years.

This is the election to vote FOR our state's environment in Amendment One and to vote FOR our state to begin medicinal marijuana in Amendment Two and to vote AGAINST the rigged court-packing disaster in Amendment Three.

Early voting is simple.  It's for people who can't get off work or know they won't be available to vote on Election Day itself.  Voting hours (in Polk County at least) are 9 AM to 6 PM Monday through Saturday (yes! You can vote on Saturday in case you're working Mon-Fri always and forever), and 10 AM to 6 PM on the one Sunday October 26th.  Each county will list locations where they will have polling places that allow anyone from any part of the county to show up to vote (it does not require a specific precinct for you to use).  Last day of Early Voting in Florida will be November 1st (Saturday).

Bring every possible form of ID with you that shows a photo of you with Elvis shaking your hand, your primary address, blood type, birth origin, dog license cat license fish license, anything and everything in case you run into some a-hole trying to deny your RIGHT to vote.

Turnout for voting is key, people.  Small turnouts mean only the extremist candidates and extremist parties win.  The more voters, the more likely the common-ground common-sense votes carry the day.

GET THE VOTE OUT, PEOPLE.

And for the Love of God DON'T VOTE REPUBLICAN.

Danke.

Reminder: Early Voting Still a Thing in Florida This Week

Early voting for the Florida primaries continues until August 23, so you got like today until this Saturday to get your voting done in case Tuesday August 26 is a busy day for you!

And also, if you're Republican voting in this primary cycle, can you do the state of Florida a teeny little favor and vote FOR Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder?  To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what she stands for, but her one big positive is that she's NOT RICK "MEDICARE FRAUD" SCOTT.

Scott is NOT the best candidate to represent any party.  He sure as hell shouldn't have won back in 2010, he sure as hell doesn't deserve it - look at all the messes and screw-ups of his administration! - today.  C'mon Republicans, show you've got SOME ethical accountability...

Early Voting Florida: Primaries August 16 2014

WAKE UP FLORIDA

Early voting begins today (Saturday) August 16th!  It's for the Primaries and for the local elected offices such as School Boards and Judges.

Early polling places should be available in most accessible locations in every county (Except Pinellas County which for some GODFORSAKEN REASON never has an early polling place in North Pinellas.  Clearwater is still a hassle to get to!  Would it kill you guys to put a polling place in Tarpon Springs?!  We're not freaking Siberia up there!  /rage).

For example, I currently reside in Mulberry, so City Hall is where I go:

I voted.  AND SO SHOULD YOU!

Just a reminder or three:
1) They do require photo ID.  Which is still a problem for people - mostly poor - who can't afford one (Driver's or State ID).  Also an authorized signature (to match the one you gave when you signed for your free voter ID card).  If you do not have a photo ID you can still vote using a Provisional Ballot!
2) Please read up on the candidates' information first.  Your county elections office should have a list of candidates, and hopefully those candidates will have websites arguing their positions.  If not, check the local newspapers for the op-ed recommendations.  The local elections for school board and justices may be non-partisan, but the candidates still are partisan so make sure you're not voting any wingnuts to office.
3) The primaries in Florida are closed: you have to be in a party to vote their primary challenges.  However, NPA (non-Party voters like me) can STILL vote for the school boards and judges, and that's still important, so EVERYONE needs to get out to vote.
3a) If you're Democrat, you DO have a primary contest for Governor: choosing between Charlie Crist and Nan Rich.  Personally, I back Crist but I'm NPA so I can't vote.  All I can say is vote your conscience.
3b) If you're Republican, you DO have a primary contest for Governor: choosing between Rick "Medicare Fraud" Scott and two challengers, Yinka Abosede Adeshina and Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder.  If you've followed this blog with any awareness these past four years, you know my feelings about Rick "No Ethics" Scott.  All I can say is vote your conscience... WHICH MEANS VOTING FOR ELIZABETH CUEVAS-NEUNDER.  PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD REPUBLICANS DON'T VOTE FOR A GODDAMN CROOK...
5) The major election issues - the state amendments - are set for November.  Again, I'll write about those three ballot issues - not many this year, odd - on a later blog entry.

That all said, if you're in Mulberry (Polk County) and need help finding your way to the early voting area, just look for the TARDIS:

The Doctor does not support nor does he recognize any of the candidates running for office this 2014.  As a Gallifreyian non-resident, he's not allowed to vote here anywho.

The Doctor does, however, encourage you to support your local public library! (Hi Mulberry!)

Update on the Gerrymander Court Decision, and How It Affects Voting for Florida

The judge in that gerrymandering case is ordering the state legislature to convene a Special Session to redraw the illegal districts into something legal by August 15th.  I thought he'd wait but apparently he didn't: worse, it took him a month to make up his mind to order this done.

Because what this does is throw the entire voting calender into chaos:

...The practical effect is that lawmakers must convene a special session in the next two weeks to meet the map-fixing deadline. Lewis would then decide when and if special elections would be held for the districts whose boundaries have been modified.

Candidates would then have to qualify again, election officials would have to modify precinct maps, and the costs of the elections could rise...

While I'm all for making the Florida Legislature's collective life miserable for making these illegal gerrymanders in the first place, I dunno if this is the way to go. What's going to happen is that the election cycle - the primary at the end of this month, and the general election in November - is going to get thrown off-track. By messing with the dates we can have these elections, we're risking the likelihood most residents won't know when to really vote.

Continue reading

Early Voting Starts Today in Florida for 2012

So I went.

Normally, I prefer going on Election Day itself.  I'm a traditionalist about civic duty in that regard.  But this year - for the first time ever! - I've gotten a Jury summons for that week, meaning I may be somewhat busy on Election Day.  So, best to get it out of the way...

And I took pics.  Cell phone camera, alas, so the images are a bit fuzzy.

The line wasn't too long at the Government Center, moved pretty quickly (got from front door to Elections Office door in about 18 minutes), and the voting itself went relatively smooth.

I think the turnout was big due to this being the first day to Early Vote.  Previously, early voting started this Monday, but the Republicans in charge of the state seem to have this sick notion of wanting most citizens to NOT vote, so they're doing their damnedest to stop us registered voters as much as possible.  Well, up yours, Rick "Fraudster" Scott, up yours...

EDIT: And remember, Floridians... VOTE NO ON ALL AMENDMENTS!  And please VOTE TO RETAIN THE JUDGES!

Just remember, everyone, GET THE VOTE OUT!  The more Americans voting the better!  C'mon, everyone!  VOTE!  VOTE!  VOTE!