Although Florida’s March 15 primary is several weeks away, Florida voters are gearing to go at unprecedented levels, according to Elliot Bowden, a Florida Division of Elections (FDE) official.
Bowden reports a steady rise in requests for mail-in or absentee ballots. According to the FDE, over a million ballots to nominate a presidential candidate from either the Democratic or the Republican Party are being mailed out, with over 340,000 heading to voters in South Florida. Voters have until March 9 to request ballots by mail.
According to reports, there was also “a surge of NPA [No Party Affiliation] voters” reapplying to register with either party, to ensure they’d be eligible to participate in the state’s primary elections open only to registered Democrats and Republicans.
Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections mailed over 157,000 ballots of the 927,000 registered Democrats and Republicans on that county’s voters list. Palm Beach County mailed over 83,000 out of 584,000. On Tuesday, Brenda Snipes Broward County’s Supervisor of Elections supervised the loading of over 100,000 ballots in pre-paid envelopes on a sixteen wheeler semi-trailer at the Voting Equipment Center Office in Lauderhill. That county has 792,000 registered Democrats and Republicans.
The main reason revving the region’s elections fever, argues demographic researcher and political analyst, Bert Samuels, is the “fierce atmosphere” in the Republican and Democratic presidential campaign. “There likely won’t be a clear frontrunner by either party by March 15, so Florida’s primary election will have great significance.”
The uncertainty of the upcoming primaries have also affected the normally predictable Caribbean-American voters. In November last year, a National Weekly survey show registered Caribbean Democrats supporting Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders 83 percent to 9 percent. But numbers from a recent survey shows a dramatic swing, with 33 percent now supporting Sanders.
The sudden surge in support for Sanders, argues Granville Webster, 26, of Plantation, could be explained by his growing appeal among the community’s youth.
“Although I like Hillary and think she’s experienced to be president, I am attracted to Sanders’ message of closing the earning and prosperity gap between the social classes in America,” says Webster.
Christie Daniels, 24, an ardent Sanders supporter, said she isn’t perturbed by Sanders being 74. “My interest is in his ability to lead. Honestly, I am not confident he’ll win the nomination against the powerful Clinton machine, but what he’s promising, I need as a young American.”
