Miami’s political consultants are going to be de luto.
President Donald Trump announced over the weekend that he’s drafting an executive order — all by himself, of course — to ban absentee ballots and mail-in ballots before the 2026 midterms. Because, claro, nothing screams democracy like one guy deciding how 150 million people should vote.
But anybody who’s been around Miami-Dade politics longer than five minutes knows absentee ballots are the OG battlefield. Trump didn’t invent this paranoia. And there are plenty of people in the 305 who are crying in their cafecito and doing Santeria rituals right now to try to stop the president from doing this.
Absentee ballots here are as much a part of elections as pastelitos and senior housing. Who can forget the 1997 Miami mayor’s race that got tossed because of dead voters and ballots from outside the city limits? Or Sergio“El Tío” Robaina — uncle to ex-Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina — who was famously caught up in the absentee game of the 2012 election and was charged with 
several felonies, including tampering with the ballot of a voter who had dementia. Or Anamary Pedrosa, an aide to then Miami-Dade Esteban Bovo was caught with 165 ABs in the trunk of her car at Bovo’s district office. Or Deisy Cabrera, who police said handled at least 31 ballots.
All of them made plea deals — which kept the elected officials they were working for safe.
Congressman Carlos Gimenez was running for re-election as Miami-Dade mayor in 2012 when his Hialeah campaign office was caught up in this absentee ballot fraud operation. After he won, Gimenez dismantled the public corruption squad at the county’s police department that had found the AB fraud.
Longtime political consultant Sasha Tirador, the absentee ballot queen who’s worked both sides of the aisle, built her whole reputation on delivering votes before the polls even opened. And there’s a whole rogues gallery of boleteros and boleteras — campaign operatives “helping” abuelitos at the senior centers — who turned absentee ballot harvesting into an art form. And a lucrative business.
Candidates knew the score. They budgeted for it: palm cards, T-shirts, radio ads — and the boletera network.
And now here comes Trump, pretending he’s discovered the problem, saying the states are just “agents” of the federal government and must do what the el presidente says. Somebody should hand him a copy of the Constitution. Spoiler: He doesn’t have that power. Not even close. Legal experts are already lining up to call this EO what it is: a pipe dream.
Read related: More than half a mil Miami-Dade vote-by-mail, absentee ballots favor Dems
The irony? Florida Republicans, the same party that kisses Trump’s ring, perfected the absentee ballot game. They used them for years to lock in older Cuban voters from their recliners — or their hospice beds. Trump himself mailed in his vote from Palm Beach. But now, because Democrats leaned more on mail ballots during the pandemic, suddenly they’re a communist plot.
Even Vladimir Putin, Trump says, “agrees” with him on ending mail-in voting. Which should tell you everything. Is that where he got the idea? Alaska?
Look, Ladra isn’t here to defend the absentee ballot hustle. Too many elections have been tainted by it — from Hialeah to 
Sweetwater to Homestead — to call it “clean.” June’s special election in Miami’s District 4 has been marked by allegations that ABs were signed after senior voters were threatened that they would lose services. It’s supposed to be under investigation.
But let’s be real: Trump’s order isn’t about protecting democracy. It’s about kneecapping Democrats while giving his boleteras in Westchester, Allapattah and La Saguesera a nostalgic hug.
And if Miami’s long history teaches us anything, banning absentee ballots won’t kill fraud. It will just force the players — Sasha, Tío Robaina’s spiritual heirs, and the rest of the absentee mafia — to find a new hustle.
Because in Miami, where there are votes, there’s always alguien trying to hustle them.
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“If AB’s get eliminated the Republicans lose here in Miami dade ”
I can not edit my previous post but after thinking it over I think you are on to something , for starters MOST Democrats in Miami 18 to 30 years old do not bother voting , MOST in the Black community as far as men do not bother voting .
So it does make sense this will affect Republicans bit more .
“If AB’s get eliminated the Republicans lose here in Miami dade ”
A few have told me this but I think it will be about the same as far as both sides will lose voters .
“There should be one day only for voting”
A nightmare for people who work , have kids or simply have something they can not walk away from that one day and why should there only be one day , what good , purpose will this serve ?
I’m still trying to understand how a convicted felon’s absentee ballot was accepted and counted in 2024 in Florida while the Gov. had police going around and arresting blacks who voted after serving their time in prison.
True, the Constitution doesn’t give the President any power over federal
elections, but I find it hysterical how liberals recourse to the Constitution
when it is convenient for them while they ignore it 99% of the time.
There should be one day only for voting. Valid ID required. Citizens only.
No machines, only paper. No mail-in ballots (except overseas military/
government personnel) And for those who might object of the above
mentioned requirements as “voter suppression tactics to disenfranchise
minorities” let me remind you that even the late Nelson Mandela (“Get an ID. Register. Vote” “One Man. One Vote.”) supported strict voting regulations. “
If AB’s get eliminated the Republicans lose here in Miami dade
Does that mean hurry up we have only one election in Hialeah left to do it 🤔
And that’s how you keep anyone who lives overseas, like military and other American citizens who live overseas from voting. And keeps elderly people who are in homes or bedridden from voting. Or blacks who will also be blocked from voting. Especially since tRump also wants every woman to prove her married name with a marriage license that shows why her name differs from her birth certificate. Or any student who will be forced to come home from college to vote? This is absurd! You act like everyone is able to show up on voting day. What about police and firefighters that have to be on duty? Clueless. I DO agree that the 2024 ELECTION WAS RIGGED AND STOLEN, though.
People are so stupid. How can you still complain about an election 5 years ago when you won? To be a Trumpista in Miami means to be among the most ignorant uneducated morons in history. Listen to Gerry in Miami… Chicago election rules? What is she even talking about? ABs is a way to vote. That’s it. Should it be strictly run? Of course it should. That’s why Xavier Suarez was busted – he abused the system. What light needs to be shone? What national problem is there? Your own candidate won a national election TWICE!!!
Do you know why he lost in 2020? BECAUSE HE TOLD HIS VOTERS NOT TO VOTE BY MAIL. And even then, Biden barely beat him! There is nothing undemocratic about voting by mail. It’s the opposite.
But that’s what a cult of personality does to people. It makes them see things that aren’t there. Conspiracies, fake diseases like “TDS” (but COVID is a hoax! lmao!). You people love Trump more than anything else. It’s depressing. Enjoy wallowing in the trash heap of American history.
Trump wants to be Dictator for Life. Marco Rubio helps Trump. DeSantis is a Trump Cult member. Carlos Gimenez and Rick Scott worship Trump. Francis Suarez idealizes Trump.
so you against or in favor of ABs? I can’t tell. or just against Trump? your TDS is progressing, Ladra mija, you should have that checked out. I’ll bet you’re stage 4 by now, metastacized and everything. you think the 305 is the only place these games are played? Ever hear of Chicago Election Rules? there are 2: 1) Vote early & 2) Vote Often. ABs son un relajo all over the USA. maybe Trump’s EO will be stopped by a judge (there’s news you should rush to cover) and maybe his EO shines a flashlight that needs to be shined and the slow change process begins. wanting to clean up a process everyone knows has been corrupted is anti-democratic, right? this orange-hair Monster of a leader would not want to do what’s right, would he? that’d destroy your narrative! jesus, what’s next? MSNBC changing its name? oh wait.
Good, I hope Trump does get this passed however he has to get it done. I’m over all the lying, cheating and BS that has come with the absentee ballots and YES, I KNOW THAT’S HOW THE 2020 ELECTION WAS RIGGED AND STOLEN.
So, it’s about time to clean that mierda up.