Abortion, Marijuana Among Issues Driving FL Voters To Polls
FLORIDA — After nearly 60 percent of Florida’s registered voters cast their ballots ahead of Election Day, crowds are still expected at the polls on Tuesday.
A St. Petersburg poll worker told Patch: “Sunday, we were slammed. It’s been good today, too.”
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In the final days of early voting in Pinellas County, which ended Sunday, the line was wrapped around the block at the downtown St. Petersburg Supervisor of Elections Office at 501 First Ave. N., one volunteer poll worker told Patch Tuesday.
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Within a half hour of polls opening Tuesday in Hillsborough County, there were nearly 9,000 check-ins at Election Day polling places, the Supervisor of Elections Office in that county wrote in a Facebook post.
The Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Office reported earlier Tuesday that its website was slow because of high traffic volume and told voters with questions that they should call the office at 941-861-8619, according to a Facebook post.
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Hillsborough County also had issues with its phone system, which have since been resolved, the Supervisor of Elections said. Anyone with questions about how to vote today in Hillsborough is encouraged to call 813-744-5900 or email [email protected].
About 58.7 percent of Florida’s registered voters opted to vote early or vote by mail before Nov. 5, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. That’s less than 2020, which saw nearly 80 percent of voters casting their ballots before Election Day.
As of Tuesday just before 10 a.m., more than 8.28 million voters either visited an early voting location (about 5.35 million voters) or voted by mail (nearly 2.93 million voters), according to the Florida Division of Elections.
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When broken down by party, nearly 3.57 million Republicans voted early or by mail, compared to more than 2.73 million Democrats, nearly 1.79 million voters with no party affiliation and about 199,000 registered to other parties, data shows.
“I think this is a choice to voice my opinion and I want to exercise my right. I don’t want to look back and say, ‘should’ve, could’ve, would’ve,’” Everett, who voted at the downtown St. Petersburg Supervisor of Elections Office Tuesday morning, told Patch. “So, I’m taking part. When it’s all said and done, I want to say, ‘I did my part.’ This is extremely critical.”
In addition to picking the next U.S. president, there are other federal, state, county and city elections on ballots across the state. There are also various state amendments — including the legalization of recreational marijuana and abortion access — and local referendums to consider.
Octavia, a manager for Marijuana Doctor locations throughout the Tampa Bay area, and other volunteers were speaking to voters outside the St. Pete Supervisor of Elections Office and encouraging them to vote “no” on Amendment 4 about recreational marijuana. A “yes” vote would support the legalization of recreational marijuana in Florida.
Legalization is “a liability. If they go (recreational) it’s gonna be all out here. … We already got alcohol on the street. You already got cigarettes on the streets, right? If we go ahead and make medical marijuana legal on the streets with easy access for the kids, easy access all over the place, we just don’t want that,” she told Patch. “We just kind of want to keep it medical and keep the streets safe.”
Jeri, who voted by mail in Hillsborough County, told Patch she supports recreational marijuana in the state and that it was one of the more important issues on the ballot for her.
“I am hoping with the legalization of weed, it will lessen the occurrences of tainted weed products and potential injury to weed users,” she said.
Amendment 4, regarding abortion access, is another hot-button issue on the ballot this year. If passed, Amendment 4 would prohibit state lawmakers from creating any law that would prohibit, penalize or restrict a person’s right to an abortion before viability — considered somewhere over 20 weeks into pregnancy — or when necessary to protect the patient’s health.
This amendment was one of the more critical issues for Rachel in St. Petersburg.
“I think it’s important to vote because women’s rights are at stake,” she told Patch.
Jeri agreed, saying, “I also think the government should (expletive) off and let a woman decide the best options for her body.”
“The turnout we’ve been observing not just today, but the last few days, has been extraordinary. We are really, really heartened by the number of people who are enthusiastically participating in democracy and voting ‘yes’ on 4, which is the ballot measure,” Amy Weintraub, reproductive rights program director for Progress Florida, told Patch outside the Supervisor of Elections Office in St. Pete. “We’ve talked to literally hundreds of voters who are extremely excited about being able to end Florida’s abortion ban and stand up for good public health.”
There “is deep interest” in the state amendments on the ballot, particularly Amendments 3 and 4, Weintraub added. “Voters realize what’s at stake with these amendments and they are turnout out because of it, as well as, of course, for the future of our nation, the future of Earth, and all of that. I think that voters are waking up to how critical it is to participate.”
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