Got my Florida Primary Absentee Ballot. WTF?????

[HockeyMom]

Charlie Crist for Governor - Unaffiliated. Not last I heard.
Nan Rich - Unaffiliated. Excuse me?????

Local Reps:
Candidate A - Republican
Candidate B - Republican
WHY are you asking me to choose between 2 Republicans in a Democratic PRIMARY???? How about NONE OF THE ABOVE?

Candidate A for School Board - Does not list her Party Affiliation, but I got snail mail from her that she is "smart conservative" woman with 5 children. That qualifies you? So do your children go to public school? Beats me, but that "Conservative" (Democratic Primary?) says it all for me. Hell, maybe I should run myself. At least I can say that I used to WORK for the county public school.
Candidate B for School Board - Does not list party affiliation either. Call me shell shocked from the other Conservative REPUBLICAN candidates.

Local Judges - WHO? They had their (Hispanic) names, but no affiliation (TRUST they are Dems?). I could not read what else it said because everything else was in Spanish. My basic HS Spanish was not enough to translate it. I guess I am still 200 miles away in Miami?

I now understand why college graduates back in Gore v. Bush could not read a Florida ballot. Thank goodness for the INTERNET. Looks like I need to do a LOT of research before I can send in my ballot.

[HooptieWagon]

1. As far as the local reps....

I believe you can vote in republican primary races if no other candidates have filed for the GE. So the republican primary is in effect, the general election. Thats probably the case there.

I have no explanation for why Crist and Rich would be listed as "unaffiliated".

School Board - some local communities have "non-partisan" races. For example, St Pete mayoral electiins are "non-partisan". Yes, its a joke. You still have to do some background research to know who to vote for.

Judge races are always a bitch. How the fuck are voters supposed to determine whether a candidate is qualified to be a judge or not? I usually go with recommendations from a local newspaper I generally agree with.

[NV Whino]

2. Most school board and judicial races don't lis affiliation

They're supposed to be non partisan. Heh.

Just means you have to do a lot of research. I've always found it helpful to see who supports whom. League of Women Voters is a good one to check as is Sierra Club.

[packman]

3. I have a foolproof plan to vote

in my local Florida election. I am going two doors down and copy every name from the yard signs my teabagger neighbor has stuck in his front yard. Then I am going into the booth and make sure I do not vote for one of them.

[talkguy365]

4. Edited. Crist is now a democrat.

Last edited Thu Jul 24, 2014, 02:52 PM - Edit history (1)

I don't follow Florida elections closely, but something was nagging at me. It turns out Crist switched parties to go up against the incumbent Scott.

[Sancho]

5. It probably doesn't make any difference who you vote for "absentee"....

here in Clearwater, the "volunteers" can check your party affiliation and if your signature doesn't match, your ballot is tossed. This happened to me a couple times (even after I registered again and signed again, etc.). You have to go online after the election to see if your ballot was counted. Very few people realize how many ballots are rejected because the signature doesn't match.

Also, we've found absentee ballots tossed in the trash. That's a whole story in itself.

Meanwhile, my wife and I have witnessed a DRE that switched votes. We immediately reported the machine and asked it to be impounded. We were escorted out and threatened with arrest. The machine was "reset" and put back in service.

Finally, in close local elections the repub candidate mysteriously wins even when other issues (like tax referendums) on the same ballot clearly go to the Democrats. Soooooo....who is watching the tabulators?

This is Florida and the process has been completely controlled by the GOP for many years. I have my ballot and I'll send it in, but I'm not optimistic that it will make any difference.

[HockeyMom]

6. Last Presidential Election I DROVE to my Supervisor of Elections.

when the polls were closed, and handed it in myself to the clerk who I saw record it. I will do the same because of my experience voting at the POLLS. "Lookie here, we got ourselves a Democrat!" "Those are the Democrats voting machines". PRESIDENTIAL General Election. I will NEVER do that ever again.

I live in Naples (now redistricted to somewhere outside of Miami to keep the Dem vote DOWN), hometown of the Crook, Space Alien Rick Scott. TRUST THEM? Surely, you jest. If I have to run through hoops to defeat them, I WILL anyway I can. Don't mess with this Senior transplanted NYC "girl". I learned the ropes very, very young.

[HockeyMom]

7. Postponement of Primary and General Election

due to the ruling on the illegal redistricting lines. I read there is a suit going on now for that. Big Mess, and I live in one of those areas. I live in Collier Country, and the ONLY part that is still on the Gulf Coast is a small sliver along the COASTLINE. Hmmm. WHO lives there? RICH, mostly REPUBLICANS. The rest, and MAJORITY of Collier, poor, middle class, and brown, have been banished to the opposite coast to keep this area RED.

I don't hold much hope out for this coming to fruition before the election, unfortunately.