November is approaching fast, and with November comes the mid-term elections!
The mid-term elections give you a chance to exercise your given right as a citizen, and vote for who you believe is best for office. This includes senate seats, house of representative seats, governors, mayors and many other government jobs.
We, at the Observer, believe that voting is one of the exponential parts of democracy. When taking the time to vote, you are making your voice heard and demonstrating that you care about the future of your city, county and country.
There are not many obstacles that you face when voting as it is very easy to register to vote. You can find a Florida voter registration form online at http://dos.myflorida.com/media/693757/dsde39.pdf or you can go to your nearest DMV and fill out a form in person. You must register at least 29 days before the elections to be able to vote.
After registering to vote, you should take the time to research the candidates running for the different open government positions in your area and find out which candidates will represent your beliefs the best.
Here in Florida, we have a gubernatorial election coming up in November as the current governor, Rick Scott, is term limited and cannot run for reelection. There are 23 different candidates running for the office; seven democrats, twelve republicans, one libertarian, one member of the constitution party and two independent candidates.
Another seat that is up for grabs in the state of Florida is Bill Nelson’s senate seat.
He has served as a Florida Democratic senator since 2001 and will be running again in November. One of his proposed opponents is Republican, Rick Scott, Florida’s current governor. Although Scott hasn’t officially announced his candidacy, it is very likely that he will be running against the incumbent.
Some of the other offices that you will see on your Broward County ballot are county commissioner, county court judge and school board positions.
Along with voting, you can get in involved in the upcoming elections in different ways. On Oct. 23 and 24, Broward College will host the debates for the U.S senate and Florida governor seats.
This event is called “Decision 2018: Before You Vote.” This will give the democratic and republican candidates a chance to debate for an hour each, taking place on the Davie campus, beginning at 7 p.m.
“The events will be televised in all 10 of the state’s major media markets, including WFOR-Ch 4, in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market, and WPBF-Ch. 25 in the West Palm Beach market,” according to the Sun-Sentinel.
The importance of getting involved in your county, state and federal elections is tremendous. Young voters are the most underrepresented when it comes to voting. This is because many young voters fail to realize the importance of voting.
“Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting,” said former President, Franklin D. Roosevelt.