Election Day is over but the fight for the presidency is just underway. As more ballots were accounted for, the closer the race became on Wednesday.
Nov. 3 was a big day as the much anticipated 2020 Election Day began. As the night progressed and more ballots were counted, the race become much tighter as the presidential nominees fought over swing states. Florida was one of the states many people watched for as the polls closed and votes were counted. Twenty-nine electoral college votes were up for grabs to the winner of the state.
At the end of the count, President Trump took the state of Florida narrowly over former Vice President Joe Biden’s votes. Trump took over 51% of Florida’s votes while Biden claimed 48%.
While the night brought some big wins for Trump as he won some of the larger swing state votes, he also prematurely called his win on Twitter, announcing he will be making a statement on his big win. Biden responded to Trump’s behavior by writing it was the voters choice.
Votes continue to be counted through the country as people wait anxiously for the final results. However, the counting could take weeks.
Voting for local officials helps secure your future
Voting for local candidates can be just as important as voting in the presidential election. Local officials can have a larger impact on your daily life more then you’d think.
While much of the election night attention is on the president election, many people forget the importance of their local officials. In Tampa Bay, Democratic U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist won against Republican Anna Paulina Luna, who lost the race with 47% of votes at 190,547. Crist took the win with 53% of votes at 215,179.
Luna tweeted that the election was not over.
There are may other reasons why spending time learning about your local officials is so important. They not only decide on how much money goes into public schools and job training They also decided the price of rent and if there will be public transportation in your neighborhood. Local Officials also hold power in law enforcement and have the power to decide what happens to refuges and immigrants.
Some other important congressional wins in the Bay area include Republican Congressman Vern Buchanan beating Margret Good to keep his District 16 seat. Democratic incumbent Congresswoman Kathy Castor beat challenger Christine Quinn in District 14. In District 12 Republican incumbent Gus Bilirakis beat Kimberly Walker.
Amendment three failure prevents open primary in Florida
Election Day ended with some surprising results as the most controversial amendment was not approved. There will be no open primaries in Florida.
Florida residents faced a difficult decision when it came to Amendment 3 on their ballots. The amendment would have made it possible for anyone to vote in a primary election no matter their political party affiliation.
Florida voters decided to vote against an open preliminary keeping the primary closed meaning, that only voters registered to a political party can vote. Voters who aren’t registered to either political party can not vote in closed primary elections.
The amendment lost with 4,400,501 votes at 43% votes against, while 5,835,456 people, 57%, voted yes.
Voting by mail might prove to be risk for minorities, studies say
A large number of ballots from minority voters have been flagged once again in Florida.
Voting this year has been a struggle for some people as Florida continues its battle with the coronavirus. Many decided to vote by mail.
While Florida has a troubled history of minority voter suppression it’s no different in this year’s election. Many minority groups throughout Florida could be at risk of not having their ballots counted.
A large number of minority votes have been flagged in Florida, a potential difference in a swing state. Black and Hispanic voters are more likely to be rejected as mail in ballots then white voters.
Voters whose mail-in votes were flagged have until 5 p.m. on November 5th to fix any problems with their ballots.
Over 2 million people had cast their votes in the mail this year across the country, according to ABC News.
Credits
Anchors: Cheyenne Pagan, Trevor Lloyd
Reporters: Nicholas Cousineau, Deanna Lampsona-Colon
Producer: Calista Muncy
Writers: Demi Asensio
Graphics editor: James Birmingham, Calista Muncy
Video Editors: Demi Asensio
Show Editors: Vanessa Galluppo, Demi Asensio
Associate Producer: Garrett Shiflet, Nova Charles
Web Editor/Social Media Producer: Alyssa Jones
Graduate Assistant: Emmanuel Maduneme
Faculty Adviser: Jeanette Abrahamsen, Wayne Garcia
