Miami-Dade Elections Supervisor Christina White has added the West Flagler library branch to the list of early voting locations for the needless May 1 House District 114 special election. But that doesn’t solve the problem for the two Republicans in next week’s primary.
Or, really, for the one Republican who stands to lose the most and might not make it to the general.
Early voting started Saturday at three polling places in Coral Gables, Pinecrest and Cutler Bay. But two polling places in the northern end of the district that are normally open for early voting in countywide elections — West Miami Community Center and the West Flagler library — are not. And White told Ladra that there was nothing she could do now. Florida statutes require that she set the early voting calendar at least 30 days prior to the first day. Her hands are tied.
Unfortunately, this could have a damning make-or-break effect on one of the candidates.
Jose Pazos — a Marine and son of a an ex political prisoner in
Cuba who has lived in the district all his life — has his base of support in the West Miami and Flagami area, where the older Cuban voters may remember him from his run in 2010 (although the district lines were redrawn somewhat) and are more likely to vote for Pazos than someone named Andrew. Conversely, Andrew Vargas — an attorney who really doesn’t have a base anywhere as he recently moved in from the Lakes of the Meadows area, where he was running for office just a few months ago — will likely have more fans in Pinecrest and Cutler Bay than a Jose would.
Is this fair? Ladra understands that White can’t do anything about it now. But why didn’t she add the other two polling places — or at least the one that is being added to the May election — from the beginning?
There are 20 early voting locations in a normal countywide election, but they don’t activate all of the ones in a particular city or district for a smaller race, White said. There may have been more early voting sites in the most recent special election in Senate District 40 and House District 116, but there were three times as many voters as in District 114, she added.
She also said that there were more eligible registered voters in Coral Gables than Miami and West Miami combined. In fact, she had considered having only two polling places, but the district is “very long and narrow and two is probably too few,” White said.
“The decision was not made from a cost perspective but on whether it is warranted.”
But what does that mean? And who makes that determination? Is it White or her boss, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez?
Read related story: Limited early voting in House 114 GOP primary could be voter supression
Three is still too few, as evidenced by the fact that a fourth site has been added to the May 1 election, and several local leaders got involved: The West Miami mayor, Miami Commissioner Manolo Reyes, county Commissioner Rebeca Sosa and local Republican Party honcho Nelson Diaz, who even threatened to sue the county under the federal voting rights act if they did not add the two other polling places. But they were too late: The first complaint White got about the issue was when Diaz contacted her on Jan. 12 — 29 days before the first day of early voting — said Elections Spokeswoman Suzy Trutie.
White also said that she expected Flagami and West Miami voters to easily access the Gables library branch,
which is historically one of the highest peforming polling places (and so far this election is no different). But couldn’t we expect as much of the Pinecrest voters, which I assume there are fewer of? Ladra thinks that it’s much easier for the soccer moms with GPS to find the Coral Gables branch than the working class transit card holders and elderly voters of the northwestern part of the district. White’s caluclations didn’t take that into effect. Maybe the Pinecrest library branch should have been the polling place that was discarded. I wonder what the historical turnout is there compared to the West Flagler library.
Numbers show that only two people voted at the Pinecrest library over the weekend, compared to five people at the South Dade library and 44 people in Coral Gables. On Monday, four people voted at the two southern locations and 19 people voted in the Gables. On Tuesday there were no voters at Pinecrest — zero — three at South Dade and 16 in the Gables. On Wednesday, three votes at each of the two southern locations and 15 in the Gables.
Hopefully, the higher numbers in the City Beautiful indicate voters traveling in from West Miami and Flagami. Ladra also hopes the turnout picks up as the week progresses.
Because anything but a landslide is going to raise eyebrows.
Limited early voting in 114 will expand for general — too little, too late added by Ladra on
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