Gabrielle Russon
A pair of Democrats are pushing a new law to make it mandatory for Florida’s public universities and colleges to be used as early voting sites.
Sen. Tina Scott Polsky and Rep. Debra Tendrich filed bills that would require main campuses to be opened up for early voting, which is something some counties are already doing in Florida.
The legislation (SB 1634, HB 1473) requires at least one early voting site at a school’s main campus, and also calls for a public awareness campaign to inform students about voting opportunities. The campaign, “at a minimum,” must inform students through regular mail and electronic mail, as well as social media and signs around campus, according to the measures.
The identical bills address early voting, which in some places, like Orange County, drew long lines during the General Election as people were deciding between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, as well as several high-profile referendums on abortion rights and legalizing marijuana. Some people waited two or more hours in line, a group of Orange County Democratic leaders said in a letter voicing their concerns and complaining about the early voting sites being understaffed.
Floridians, in general, are big fans of early voting.
Nearly 9 in 10 Floridians said they supported early voting, according to a poll conducted by Tyson Group last year of 1,000 likely voters.
If passed, the new legislation would take effect July 1.
Polsky, a Boca Raton Democrat, and Tendrich, a Lake Worth Democrat, did not return messages for comment Friday.
Their bills were filed just before Regular Session convenes Tuesday
Lawmakers were already called to Tallahassee for three Special Sessions earlier this year that were focused on immigration enforcement. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a package of bills that beefed up laws over illegal immigration, gave $250 million to local law enforcement for reimbursement for taking up on more immigration enforcement responsibilities and took away in-college tuition waivers from undocumented students known as Dreamers.
10 comments
EARL PITTS AMERICAN
February 28, 2025 at 8:11 pm
Well, Sage Patriots, lets think this over:
1.) Universities and Collages are populated by 86.765% Dook 4 Brains Leftys.
2.) The Florida Legislature and Govornor are Majority Sage Patriots.
THEREFORE:
The bill has a “LESS THAN” Zero chance of becoming Law in The Free State of Florida.
Thank you,
EARL PITTS AMERICAN
Peachy
February 28, 2025 at 9:36 pm
Colleges and universities are propaganda training centers for the young, naive, and impressionable students that are enrolled there. Teachers and professors spew their junk here. Most of the faculty members simply can’t function in the real world so they set up camp here. Of course Demo lawmakers would like to tap into these young people before they get out in the real world and start thinking for themselves.
MarvinM
February 28, 2025 at 10:47 pm
Colleges and universities are also on the cutting edge of technologies that help with stuff like weather forecasting, tornado science, understanding hurricane patterns.
I don’t know where you live, but I’m in South Florida and I rely on NOAA and NWS for their info to help keep me and my family safe. Local colleges and universities partner with NOAA and NWS and other agencies to help get vital info out to people. Trump thinks we don’t need that.
That’s just one of many things colleges and universities do. There’s also biomedical research. But hey, if you don’t want a cure or even a good treatment for cancer, or for your dad’s Alzheimer’s, then fine, just keep bashing colleges and universities and federal funding that has already been allocated.
Maybe you don’t have a dad who has Alzheimer’s, or know a person who has AIDS, or God forbid you have been in contact with a kid who got measles and you are now spreading it around. You benefit from what colleges and universities do.
Or at least you can, if you choose to do so.
Earl Pitts American
February 28, 2025 at 11:14 pm
I’m so sorry, MarvinM, to have to be the one to burst your Dook 4 Brains Leftist “Propaganda Bubble”.
But after the Biden/Harris total & compleate “Epic Fail”, you, MarvinM, are in a tiny minority in our Great Nation.
It would behoove you to go hide under a rock for the next 24 or more years of “Sage Republican Rule here in our Great Nation.
Thank you, MarvinM, EARL.
SuzyQ
March 3, 2025 at 2:53 am
I concur. Public education, or schooling predicated upon the Prussian model, has, for decades now, been nothing more than government indoctrination. How my point would emotionally animate my economics professor who served on the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Then again, he was a Keynesian (John Maynard Keynes, FDR’s favorite economist).
Ron Ogden
March 1, 2025 at 6:50 am
I think it is a good bill, although I would amend it to include fish camps and auto race courses. Oh, and shooting ranges and gun shops. What say?
Peachy
March 1, 2025 at 8:09 am
Ha! Ha! Absolutely!!
JD
March 3, 2025 at 7:28 pm
Sure. it’s fair. Pass the bill.
Mimi Vanderberg-Mustardseed
March 3, 2025 at 7:24 am
Of course these machine Democrats are proposing this. They figure that colleges are a great place to cull blue votes en masse without having to bother doing anything. Thankfully this trash will never pass. What is amazing is that this publication continues to cover every bowel movement of these nincompoop ersatz lawmakers who couldn’t even be bothered to respond for comments.
Go cover the Republicans. Their bills might actually get passed. And they certainly deserve attention and, in many cases, scrutiny.
Will
March 3, 2025 at 6:27 pm
The Democrats think campus voting equals young and stupid voting.
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