119 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 40 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
Exclusive to OpEd News:
General News    H3'ed 9/24/20

Postcard Outreach to Vote-by-Mail Voters Underway in Broward County

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   No comments

Steve Schneider

About 1/3 of Florida voters cast ballots with a mail-in ballot when President Trump won the state by 113,000 votes out of 9 million cast in 2016.

The close result is worth noting because Florida, the third most-populous state in the nation, hands the winner of the November election 29 electoral votes. This bounty can tip a close contest to the candidate who wins the Sunshine State, which is perennially known as a swing state.

For context, this year officials expect many more Florida residents to vote at home by mail as a way to protect themselves from the deadly, novel Coronavirus. More than 200,000 people have died in this country so far, with medical experts warning the fall and winter months may double the number of dead Americans.

Against this backdrop, the Voter Participation Project, a nonprofit group, is working to "reduce the number of VBM ballots that are thrown out because voters may not have all the information they need to successfully vote by mail," says Board Member Len Leritz.

He adds, "We are sending hand address postcards to voters who have registered to VBM with information they need to make sure their vote gets counted."

Among other things, VBM ballots get rejected because of signature problems. The voter must sign the envelope that holds the ballot. Officials compare that signature with signatures already on file for the voter. The ballots must also be received by the end of voting on Election Day.

Members of the Hills Democratic Club, in Hollywood, in Broward County, are joining this effort. Elaine Schwartz, the club president, writes:

à - ª Volunteers will partially write each postcard by hand and write in the Early voting sites for the precinct with a personal note... "I'm your Hollywood neighbor (Your First Name) - Please vote!" etc. à - ª We will remind them there's still time to ask for a VBM (Vote By Mail) ballot, that Early Voting starts Oct. 19, that they can drop their ballots or vote early at an Early voting site and that "Your Nearest Early Voting location is -- à - ª Also Volunteers will address postcards that will be collected, reviewed, stamped, and mailed about a week before Early Voting (around Oct. 10-12) so that they will be received before early voting begins (Oct 19) à - ª We will help in distribution of our assignments as well. à - ª You will be provided with lists of names, addresses, and nearest Early Vote sites for each household. Volunteers will estimate how many cards they think they can write.

You can learn more about the Voter Participation Project, which also works to "heal social and political division" in our country, at: https://protectvoting.org/ and http://vppaf.org/

(Article changed on September 25, 2020 at 03:43)

(Article changed on September 25, 2020 at 14:47)

Rate It | View Ratings

Steve Schneider Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter Page       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Steve Schneider lives in South Florida. He writes articles for Op Ed News and Democracy Chronicles.

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Gangstagrass Band Joined #ElectionProtection Forum on Sept. 8

Some Numbers Off for Biden, Sanders in Broward County, Florida Election Auditors Say

Chad Won't Leave Votes Hanging in Broward County Florida

Election Watchdogs Prepare for 2020 Battleground State Contests

Trump Speaks from Underground Bunker

Election Auditors Teach "Free-Speech Mitch" That Democracy Counts

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend