Miami-Dade Dems launch GOTV push as mail-in ballots drop

Miami-Dade voters who requested mail-in ballots will begin getting them this week, and the county’s Democratic Party is launching a mobilization effort to support its candidates and help voters wanting to vote by mail to submit their requests in time.

A party press note said the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee (DEC) is deploying 15 dedicated field staffers across the county to provide “essential on-the-ground support to Democratic candidates and spearhead Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts.”

Miami Gardens Sen. Shevrin Jones, Chair of the Miami-Dade DEC, said the goal is to boost turnout and ensure Democratic candidates reach every voter they need to win.

“This wouldn’t be possible without the incredible support and enthusiasm we’ve seen at recent events such as the Blue Gala and canvasses,” he said in a statement.

“Our newly deployed field officers will be on the frontlines, mobilizing voters in every corner of the county to support Democratic campaigns and make a real difference.”

The party said it will increase its GOTV efforts during early voting, from Oct. 26 to Nov. 2, and through Election Day on Nov. 5.

Miami-Dade is sending out more than 260,000 mail-in ballots this week. County Supervisor of Elections Christina White is urging voters to fill them out and return them quickly by mail or at a designated drop box during early voting.

It’s not too late to request a mail-in ballot. The deadline to do so is Oct. 24.

Aside from candidates running for local, state and federal offices, there are several important ballot measures to amend the Florida Constitution that voters can weigh in on.

Amendment 1 would require all School Board races to be partisan, meaning candidates’ political affiliations would appear beside their names on the ballot, while Amendment 6 would repeal a constitutional provision providing for public campaign financing for candidates who agree to spending limits.

Amendment 5, meanwhile, would provide for an annual inflation adjustment for the value of Florida’s homestead property tax exemption.

The two most attention-grabbing measures, by far, are Amendment 3, which would legalize recreational cannabis, and Amendment 4, which would protect abortion access up to the point of fetal viability or when necessary to protect the mother’s health.