If you’re one of the many Florida voters abroad who receive a full ballot, you have the opportunity to not only shape races at the federal level today, but the ability to shape the candidates of tomorrow.  You can also help prevent further expansion of horrible Republican policies.

If you only receive a federal ballot, that is, a ballot with only US President, US Senate and US House of Representative races, please watch for the upcoming article, What’s my intent? Changing your “intent to return” on the FPCA form will likely give you access to the full ballot.

 

First, a little background

Florida Republicans have gerrymandered the state’s Congressional Districts to such an extreme degree that, in 2024, only four of 28 races are considered to be competitive at all.  The rest are considered “safe” seats for the incumbent party.

Similarly, the state legislative districts have been gerrymandered as well, in this case so extremely as to give the Republicans super-majorities in the both the Florida House and Florida Senate.  This means that Republicans can almost completely ignore Democrats' voices, and even attempts to use limited procedural motions to slow down the Republican juggernaut are impossible. 

What a legislative super-majority means – real examples

Beyond the well-publicized draconian laws such as the near-total Florida abortion ban and proposals that would have spent as much as $25 billion dollars on roads that no one (except developers) wanted, the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature controls the state with an iron fist, implementing state-wide regulations to clamp down on progressive cities’ efforts.  When Key West banned plastic drinking straws because they harm marine life, the legislature forbade such bans.  Tampa’s regulations required developers preserve old-growth trees, so the legislature made such regulations illegal.

The legislature also passed laws to allow individuals and business to challenge local laws they consider, “arbitrary or unreasonable”, and to award hefty attorneys fees if the plaintiffs prevail.  Keep in mind that the Republicans have stacked the Florida courts with their cronies, so even if the vast majority of a city’s residents think the laws are not arbitrary and are reasonable, an activist conservative judge can ignore the will of the people.

Where does it stop?

Republicans have used these same techniques all the way down the ballot to the level of County Commissions and School Boards.  Republican-controlled County Commissions famously promote unbridled growth without reasonable requirements for developers to pay for the supporting infrastructure, like parks, access roads, schools, water and sewage systems, and police and fire stations.  School Boards in Florida have become a hotbed of conservative activism, banning books and attacking LGBTQ+ rights.  These are powerful positions, and the actions taken have real-world consequences.  The “moderate Republican” is extinct in most of American, and Florida is a glaring example.

Your vote can help stem the tide of conservative activism

You can see from the examples above that Florida needs help, and Florida voters residing abroad are in a perfect position to do so.  Among Florida civilian voters residing overseas, Democrats have a 2:1 voter registration advantage over Republicans.  As with many races in Florida, down ballot races are often decided by razor thin margins.  In 2018, a state senate race in the Tampa area was decided by 411 votes out of 207,745 cast (0.2%).  In 2021, the Democratic primary election for a US Congressional seat was decided by five votes out of 49,082 votes cast (0.01%).

The bottom line:

Votes of Floridians abroad make a difference all the way down the ballot.

How to know who to vote for

It’s difficult even for voters who live in a district to keep up with news about elections and candidates.  Overseas voters can find it especially challenging, but there are resources.  Check out the article How to keep up with Florida news under the News section of the DA Florida State Team web page (the same page where this article is located). 

Do you keep up on news in your voting county and/or around Florida, and do you enjoy writing?  Contact the DA Florida State Team about writing articles for our News page.

Also check with the Democratic Party in the county where you’re registered to vote.  They will often have lists of candidates and slate cards with their endorsements.  You can find your county’s Democratic Party information at https://www.floridadems.org/our-party/local-parties/.  If you have a particular interest in an issue, look for one of the caucuses that advocates on those topics in Florida at https://www.floridadems.org/our-party/caucuses/.  Or just check out the Progressive Caucus for information on left-of-center advocacy at https://www.progressivefl.org/.

 

In solidarity,

Scott Hoffman
DA Florida State Team Co-Chair