Early voting has ended in Florida and candidates fighting to be their party’s nominees will now intensify their efforts to get final support from voters, up until election day on Tuesday.
CNW visited the epicenter of the elections in Broward County, where the County’s election office is located in Lauderhill, and the buzz was in high gear. The city has one of the largest Haitian and the second largest Jamaican populations in the United States.
The Broward and Palm Beach counties have one of the most hotly contested races in Florida, pitting incumbent Sheila McCormick against Jamaican Dale Holness for the congressional seat of district 20. Holness lost to McCormick by five votes in a hotly contested election last year.
When CNW visited the Lauderhill Mall yesterday, several candidates had representatives and supporters trying to get last-minute votes before early voting ends today. The primary election takes place on Tuesday, August 23.
The sprawling parking lot was decorated with signs; some candidates even had tents. Sheila McCormick had the most prominent presence, including a massive mobile advertising monitor, a bus, and music blasting from high amp speakers. Other prominent Jamaican candidates represented at the voting site in Lauderhill include Anika Omphroy, who is running against Holness and McCormick to become the Democrat’s representative in November, and Hazelle Rogers, who is looking to get one of the vacant seats on Broward County’s Commission.
Lauderhill’s Commissioner Denise Grant, whose city hosts Broward County’s office of elections, encouraged voters to come out and vote in an interview with CNW yesterday. “Voting is your voice. It is imperative that you come out and vote. It doesn’t matter who you vote for. Many persons have died for the right of individuals to go out and vote.” She said, “It is important for us to inform our family members, our friends as well that these elections are important.”
She stressed that the local elections are very important because the local government representatives are the ones that are more accessible. “They are the ones that we can touch and feel,” she insisted.
Regarding the issues that make it essential for voters to come out to cast their ballots, the commissioner mentioned crime and policing, poverty, and homelessness. “We need people who have a plan that can bring the cities together,” she told CNW.
As of 7:30 pm today, the Broward Supervisor of Elections office is reporting a 12.94 percent voter turnout. The figure represents 115 392 votes by mail, 45 132 in early voting, and 11 provisional ballots.
In Palm Beach, 14.85 percent or 147 703 eligible voters cast their ballots. Vote by mail accounted for 120 572, while 27 131 voted early.
