Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Florida Democrats could have sporadic and first time voters to thank for high pre-Election Day turnout.
As of Monday afternoon, more than 6.4 million Floridians have already voted. State records show more than 2.56 million Democrats have voted, compared to 2.47 million Republicans. Democrats now lead Republicans in pre-Election Day totals by more than 88,000 votes.
“On the eve of Election Day, Florida sits in uncharted electoral waters thanks to the record-breaking number of votes already cast during the vote-by-mail and early vote period. These turnout increases are seen across every demographic group and points to high turnout when the last ballots are cast in the Sunshine State,” wrote Ashley Walker in a memo from For Our Future, a progressive super PAC. “The record high early voting and vote-by-mail turnout has been made possible by an increase in sporadic and first-time voters. Engaging and turning out these voters and expanding this universe is exactly the program that For Our Future was built to accomplish.”
Founded in May, For Our Future focused on building a “mobilization campaign” in seven battleground states. The super PAC focused its effort on “building support and enthusiasm among core Obama voters.”
The organization, according to the memo, has targeted more than 1.9 million voters across the state through voter mobilization programs. The organization has knocked on more than 2.7 million doors, and since Oct. 24, the field team has focused on “turning out voters for in-person early voting and getting sporadic voters to return their vote-by-mail ballot.”
According to Walker’s memo, 815,847 voters within the targeted universe have already cast their ballot.
Walker said the central focus has been generating vote-by-mail requests among “voters least likely to vote.” The group generated more than 130,000 vote-by-mail requests, and “have been able to get 68% return rate from these sporadic and first time voters.”
“In an election cycle that many pundits talked about the effect of an unenthusiastic electorate, the early voting and vote-by-mail returns are telling a different story. As we enter the final hours of the 2016 election cycle, Florida voters are excited about the opportunity to cast a ballot and have their voice heard in this critical election,” wrote Walker in the memo. “Without a doubt, For Our Future’s efforts targeting sporadic voters by engaging them in thoughtful conversations about what is at stake in this election is making a difference that will help bring home a victory for Hillary Clinton and Democrats down the ticket.”
