Newsbreak: People heading to election sites as early voting starts

Today is the beginning of in-person early voting in the state of Florida. It will continue until Election Day on Nov. 3.

Don’t forget to bring valid ID that includes your signature and photo when you come out to vote! #EarlyVoting is open daily through November 1, 7 AM – 7 PM. Visit https://t.co/AkFE6Q4ES5 and check out the widget for more info on the locations. #VoteHillsborough pic.twitter.com/8AePNJOuQC

— Craig Latimer 🗳️ (@HillsboroughSOE) October 19, 2020

Over 2 million mail-in votes have already been cast in Florida. Hillsborough County is one of the tops in the state in residents requesting mail-in ballots.

Hillsborough Monday morning saw over 2,000 people vote early within the first hour. Over 200,000 people voted early in 2016, and that number is expected to increase this year.

Early-voting sites in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties will be open every day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Manatee and Sarasota counties’ early voting sites are open  8:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. daily. The polling stations can be found by visiting vote.org.

Here’s the early voting line at Jan Platt library. We’ve got 26 early voting sites in Hillsborough so we’re lucky! Even this line won’t require a long wait. But I have never seen a line like this here. #earlyvoting pic.twitter.com/fAVY0Dakz8

— janet scherberger (@jmscherberger) October 19, 2020

Libertarian candidate campaigns in St. Petersburg, touts limiting government interference

Third-party presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen is the only candidate besides Donald Trump and Joe Biden who is on the ballot in all 50 states. She campaigned in St. Petersburg this weekend.

Lots of people are already voting and telling us about it, so how about replying to this post with your state and #IVoted4Jorgensen when you cast your #Vote2020?
Your pictures are welcome, too!#Jorgensen2020 #LetsDoThis pic.twitter.com/Ss9YTwepLV

— Jo Jorgensen (@Jorgensen4POTUS) October 15, 2020

The Libertarian Party is the third largest party in the United States. In the state of Florida, the party has increased from 25,000 members to 39,000 members since 2016.

Jorgensen campaigned at Demens Landing Park and warned voters that government is not the answer.

“Whenever the federal government gets involved whether that’s health care or highway transportation, anything, they tend to make it worse not better. And I think that the people in Florida should run their lives the way they want to and not how Washington dictates to them,” Jorgensen said.

Jorgensen also said that she is against war.

“If I’m elected president, my very first official act will be to bring the troops home,” Jorgensen said.

Health-care company distributing food in 2 Tampa parks

Starting Tuesday, Simply Healthcare will distribute food for families in need in Tampa. They will host two events this week from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Feeding America estimates that 54 million people will face food insecurities this year. This number is up 19 million over last year due to the coronavirus.

Did you know that in the U.S. alone, over 37 million people faced hunger last year? Since the pandemic’s outbreak, that number has jumped to an estimated 54 million. Thank you, @MorganStanley, for shedding light on how prevalent hunger is, and for continually stepping up to help. https://t.co/vc2anoJcFu

— Feeding America (@FeedingAmerica) October 16, 2020

Tomorrow’s free food pickup will be at the Cyrus Greene Community Center and Thursday will be at the Ragan Park Community Center.

Face masks and physical distancing is required. The events are limited to the first 100 families each day. For more information, visit tampagov.net/events.

Credits

Anchors: Trevor Lloyd, Caylee Cottrell

Reporters: Cheyenne Pagan, Garrett Shiflet

Producer: Niamh Larkin

Graphics editor: Calista Muncy

Show Editor: Demi Asensio, Vanessa Galluppo  

Web Editor/Social Media Producer: Jordan Frazier

Graduate Assistant:  Emmanuel Maduneme 

Faculty Adviser: Jeanette Abrahamsen, Wayne Garcia