Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
MAIL IT IN: Tuesday is the U.S. Postal Service’s recommended deadline for voters to mail ballots to ensure they arrive on time. As of Monday, the state Division of Elections reported 2.18 million mail ballots had been delivered but have not yet returned.
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Black men are voting in record numbers, and many of them are voting for the first time in their life.
According to a new analysis from Singleton Consulting, first-time voters had cast 592,775 ballots as of Oct. 23, and Black men accounted for 35,863 of those votes, outpacing Black women by a couple of thousand votes.
Nearly three-quarters of those votes come from voters over 30, and 60% from Black men over 40. But the new voters tell only part of the story — Black men who have voted in the past are also turning out at record rates.
Compared to 2016, turnout among Black men over 65 is up 9%, and it’s up 3% for Black men aged 50-64. Among the same age groups, turnout is up 8% and 3% from two years ago.
Overall, 588,753 Black Floridians have voted, including 237,917 Black men.
Phillip Singleton of Singleton Consulting said the data didn’t make sense to him at first — why would Black men skip voting for Barack Obama twice but show up for Joe Biden now?
But it’s been a trend among celebrities as well — Shaquille O’Neal, 48, and Snoop Dogg, 49, are voting for the first time this year. And the trend appears to cross state lines. Singleton said he sees similar bumps in Georgia, North Carolina and Maryland.
He’s calling it the “George Floyd Effect,” referring to the Black man who died at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer five months ago, sparking a wave of protests against police brutality and racial inequality across the country.
“Black men are voting Trump out of office, like no President in American history,” he said. “Even if they’ve been absent as fathers, they’ve witnessed their sons and daughters get killed on their timelines, and they’ve had enough.”
Coronavirus Numbers
Positive cases:
— 771,989 FL residents (+3,336 since Sunday)
— 10,024 Non-FL residents (+41 since Sunday)
Origin:
— 6,855 Travel related
— 290,686 Contact with a confirmed case
— 7,487 Both
— 466,961 Under investigation
Hospitalizations:
— 48,281 in FL
Deaths:
— 16,652 in FL
Voters are Voting
Total ballots cast: 6,018,430
Voted by mail: 3,805,775
— Democrats: 1,788,278
— Republicans: 1,179,541
— NPA/Other: 837,956
Voted early: 2,212,655
— Democrats: 766,794
— Republicans: 1,020,877
— NPA/Other: 424,984
Evening Reads
“The swing states where the pandemic is raging” via Caitlin Owens of Axios
“Donald Trump’s big problem in Florida” via Chris King for CNN
“I wanted to make doubly sure my Florida vote counted, so I did it in person. Nervously.” via Joanne Gruber for The Washington Post
“Alan Cohn in statistical tie with Scott Franklin in CD 15” via Janelle Irwin of Florida Politics
“The end of democracy? To many Americans, the future looks dark if the other side wins.” via Marc Fischer of The Washington Post
“Could Trump end up going quietly? Here are 5 ways that might happen.” via Greg Sergeant of The Washington Post
“What the rush to confirm Amy Coney Barrett is really about” via Ronald Brownstein of The Atlantic
“Trump campaign says Joe Biden ‘leaving votes on the kitchen table’” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“Police struggle to protect voters and avoid intimidation at polls” via Joe Barrett and Zusha Elinson of The Wall Street Journal
“Eleven arrested after fights erupt between pro-Trump caravan and protesters in Manhattan” via Teo Armus of The Washington Post
“Jews For Trump car parade stirs protests, fights in New York” via the Associated Press
“Florida Democrats need to flip 3 state Senate seats. Here’s why they’re going for 2.” via Kirby Wilson and Samantha J. Gross of the Miami Herald
“In Gettysburg, Trump supporters clash with Black Lives Matter protesters as election nears” via Peter Jamison of The Washington Post
“Florida man accused of stealing bulldozer to dig up Biden signs” via Ashonti Ford of Spectrum News
“Colleges slash budgets in the pandemic, with ‘nothing off-limits’” via Shawn Hubler of The New York Times
“Facebook prepares measures for possible election unrest” via Jeff Horwitz and Deepa Seetharaman of The Wall Street Journal
“Florida group holds mask-burning protest in response to re-extended facial covering mandate” via WPTV staff
“Francis Rooney talks impeachment, the Everglades and why scientists should lead on pandemic policy” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
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