Broward County Super visor of Elections April June, 2016 Vol. 5 Issue 1 Page 1 THE V.O.T.E. I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Message from Dr. Brenda C. Snipes Honoring the Veterans More Than 14,000 High School Students Registered! 2016 Early Voting Electoral Workers 2016 Election Cycle Update Your Voter Status! Guide for the 2016 Election Cycle Important Election Terminology Registered Voters Vote-By-Mail No Return Postage is Required for Vote-By-Mail Ballot Do Not Forget to Sing Your Voter Certificate Early Voting Schedule for Primary Election Early Voting Schedule for General and Municipal Elections Main Office 115 S. Andrews Ave, #102 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 Voting Equipment Center 1501 N.W. 40th Avenue Lauderhill, FL 33313 Monday Friday 8:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. E. Pat Larkins 520 MLK Blvd. Pompano Beach, FL 33060 Tuesday & Thursday 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Phone: 954-357-7050 www.browardsoe.org E-mail: thevote@browardsoe.org 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 VOICE OF THE ELECTIONS Primary Election August 30, 2016 General Election & Municipal Elections November 8, 2016 Dear Broward Voters: Message from Brenda C. Snipes, Ed. D. It s election season! Each of Broward s 1,117,388 voters will have the opportunity to voice their choice on a variety of issues and candidates. It s critically important for everyone the Greatest Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation-X, Generation-Y and Millennials, to step forward and participate in one of the most fundamental processes of a democratic society, VOTE! This newsletter is designed to provide helpful voting information and to inform you about some of our events over the past few months. Be sure to read about our video In Honor of a Vet in which retired veterans from several branches of the military share their ideas on the importance of voting. You will also review results of the High School Voter Registration Drive, where more than 14,000 students from Broward public, private and charter high schools registered to vote in this year s High School Voter Registration Drive. More than one hundred and fifty of the high school students then served as election workers for the March 15 Presidential Preference Primary. Over the past several months the SOE office has been heavily engaged in the processing of registration forms, candidate and initiative petitions, as well as management of the voter rolls. Managing these processes in an efficient manner is critical to ensuring that all voters records are updated for the Primary Election scheduled for August 30, 2016. I want to remind voters that the Primary Election will contain a mix of partisan and non-partisan races and initiatives. Therefore, to ensure that our voters are eligible to vote for their party candidate of choice. A voter must be a registered member of the candidate s party, party changes can be made in writing up to twenty-nine days before the traditional election date. The ballot will also contain non-party-affiliated races such as for judicial and school board candidates. Keep in mind that the August Primary will focus heavily on local races as well as state and federal offices. Please review the newsletter carefully to gain more information on the upcoming election cycle. As we move closer to the election, all households will receive the sample ballot unless a vote-by-mail ballot was requested. Each voter will also be issued a new voter information card. We encourage voters to avail themselves of additional information sources by visiting our website, Facebook and Twitter pages.
Page 2 H O N O R I N G THE V E T E R A N S Did you know that book closing is 29 days before election day? The Supervisor of Elections Office produced an educational video titled In Honor of a Veteran. This is a special program Honor a Veteran Event being implemented throughout the state of Florida. Several veterans from the Broward community were invited to be part of a panel. The video portrays our veterans as role models who trust that voting in every election can make a difference in our community and country. The video is used as an instrument to deliver a M O R E T H A N 1 4, 0 0 0 H I G H S C H O O L S T U D E N T S R E G I S T E R E D! Dr. Brenda C. Snipes, Supervisor of Elections would like to congratulate the winners of the High School Voter Registration Drive (HSVR). The drive is an annual effort between the Broward County Supervisor of Elections Office and the cooperation and significant support of the Broward County Public Schools and numerous private and charter schools. The registration drive took place from January 19, 2016 through January 22, 2016. The schools with the most registered students were recognized at their school s annual awards ceremony. They received the coveted championship trophy, banners and certificates. message of the importance of voting to students and other members of the community. The Supervisor of Elections would like to thank every one that participated in this civic educational effort. For viewing of the video, visit our website at www.browardsoe.org C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S TO THE H I G H S C H O O L V O T E R R E G I S T R A T I O N ( H S V R ) D R I V E W I N N E R S! Winning Schools Class 6A Stoneman Douglas Class 5A West Broward Class 4A Pembroke Pines Charter Class 3A Pompano Beach Class 2A Dave Thomas Edu. Class 1A Somerset Academy 2 0 1 6 E A R L Y V O T I N G E L E C T O R A L W O R K E R S J.D. Camp leads Super Early Voting Team at Tamarac Early Voting Site. (1st L to R) Angela Moorer, Jean Heinrichs, Natalie Strum, Alice Daniels, Mary Frazier, Pauline Rose- Blake, Antoinise Charles. (2nd) Marta Burgos, Glendora Clayton, Pauletta Scott, Sol Colon, Greer Poujade, Cindy Mendez, Brilla Smith. (3rd) Yves Innocent, Robert Valery, William Yarrow, Lorene Ford Milton Carp, JD Camp, Harvey Pomeranz
Page 3 2016 E L E C T I O N C Y C L E Primary Election August 30, 2016 General Election & Municipal Elections November 8, 2016 Book Closing Dates Primary Election August 1, 2016 General Election & Municipal Elections October 11, 2016 Early Voting Dates & Times Primary Election, August 30, 2016 (9 Days) Saturday, August 20, 2016 to Sunday, August 28, 2016 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. General Election, November 8, 2016 (14 Days) Monday, October 24, 2016 to Sunday, November 6, 2016 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. U P D A T E YOUR VO T E R STA T U S! Have you moved recently? Have you changed your name? Would you like to change your party? To check your voter status you may go to our website at: www.browardsoe.org and click on My Status located on the main page. Enter all information required and click on submit. You can also contact our office at 954-357-7050. Voting Tips... Confirm the location of your polling place before election day To know where you need to go to vote on election day, you may go to our website s main page and click on Where Do I Vote?, then you will be directed to Precinct Finder to enter your information. Voter Information Card Notice to Voters: We ask voters to make sure that their voter information card reflects the most up to date information. You may contact the office of the Supervisor of Elections at 954-357-7050 to request a replacement voter information card.
Page 4 G U I D E FOR 2016 ELECTION CY C L E The office of the Supervisor of Elections wants you to be ready for the 2016 election cycle! Follow us on Twitter! @browardvotes An informational and printable brochure was put together and it can be found in our website: www.browadsoe.org. This election tool contains information such as: election dates, registration book closing dates, candidate qualifying dates, how to become an election worker, offices and municipalities running in 2016, Voter Information Brochure 2016 three ways to vote: early voting, vote-by-mail and election day, acceptable forms of ID. I M P O R TA N T E L E C T I O N T E R M I N O L O G I E S Did you know That Florida is a closed primary state? General Election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. A regularly scheduled local, state, or national election in which voters elect officeholders. Primary Election an election in which voters choose a candidate affiliated with a political party to run against a candidate who is affiliated with another political party in a later, general election. A primary may be either open - allowing any registered voter to vote for a candidate to represent a political party, or closed - allowing only registered voters who belong to a major political party to vote for a candidate from that party. Municipal Elections cities elect their local representatives by at-large elections, some by district and some have both. Redistricting the U.S. Constitution requires states to periodically redraw electoral districts to account for population shifts. It is the process of adjusting electoral district boundaries, usually in response to census results. District boundaries determine which voters can take part in electing a representative. Universal Primary Election allows all registered voters to vote in the primary when there is no opposing party candidates on the November ballot. Effective immediately there are three additional acceptable forms of identification for the purposes of voter registration and identification at the polls: Veteran Health Identification Card, Florida concealed weapon or firearm license, and an employee identification card issued by any part of the federal, state, county, or municipal government. R E G I S T E R E D V O T E R S AS OF J U N E 1, 2 0 1 6 Total: 1,117,388 Democrat: 564,639 Republican: 249,319 NPA: 285,829 Other: 17,601
Page 5 V O T E -BY-MA I L What is vote-by-mail? The vote-by-mail voting refers to voting a ballot received by mail, or pickedup by a voter. It is also for a voter who is unable or unwilling to go to the polls during early voting or election day. A voter does not need to be absent from his/her county of residence, or have an excuse in order to vote-by-mail except on election day. On October, 2015, the vote-by-mail informational piece was mailed to all Broward voters. This is another innovative election N O R E T U R N P O S TA G E IS R E Q U I R E D F O R V O T E - B Y - M A I L B A L L O T On September 10, 2015, in collaboration with the Broward County Commission, the Broward County Supervisor of Elections has approved the inclusion of pre-paid postage envelopes with vote-by-mail ballots. Vote-By-Mail Piece tool that contains information relative to how to request a vote-by-mail ballot for any, or all, the 2016 elections by return- Broward County Supervisor of Elections, Dr. Snipes said that this program will benefit all Broward voters by speeding up and simplifying the return process. ing the form attached to the mailing piece, or visiting our website at www.browardsoe.org, or by calling the vote-by-mail line at 954-357-7055. Some of the law changes and how it affects vote-bymail voting information is also provided in the mailing piece. Other information available on the mailing piece are: who can pick-up a vote-by-mail ballot, how to complete a vote-by-mail ballot, how to correct a missing signature on your vote-by-mail ballot, how to track your absentee ballot request and returned ballot. The addition of pre-paid postage will allow voters to place their ballots in their mailbox for postal pick-up at their door. Voters may still hand deliver their ballots to the elections office. Did you know That the polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on election day? D O N OT F O R G E T TO S I G N Y O U R V O T E R C E R T I F I C A T E If you forgot to sign your voter certificate with the return ballot, you will still have the opportunity to correct the omission by completing a Signature Affidavit for vote-by-mail ballot and returning it with a copy of your identification. The deadline to submit the affidavit to the Supervisor of Elections office is no later than 5:00 p.m. on the day before the election.
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