Jesse Jackson in Florida

I apologize for not updating my blog in the past week. I've been in TN and my in-laws do not have internet at their home so if I want to use the internet, I have to drive into town. Needless to say, that did not happen much this past week. I heard from Dr. Dennis and Matt that Jesse Jackson was in Florida to protest HB 1355: Florida Election Reform. You can see an article about his protest and a video here. I would have liked to have gone just to see the protest however, I was out of town. I wonder when the US Justice Department will rule on this new law...the law is gaining more and more national attention.

I've sent my white paper to my colleagues and am working on clarifying parts of the paper that seem confusing. I will share a completed copy with you all this week.

White Paper is Published

After receiving some advice from Anne, I published my white paper on a separate page in my blog.

Please read it if you are interested and offer any suggestions.

White Paper

I think I've finished my white paper with the exception of getting feedback and doing some editing. But the main points are all there. If you would like to read it, let me know and I'll send you the document. I can't figure out how to upload a word document to this site.

Basically, the gist of my paper talks about HB 1355 and how the law affects college students when it comes to voting. I also point out that when a third party voter registration group is fined because they do not turn their voter registration applications to the Supervisor of Elections on time (within 48 hours of the person signing the application), the money does not go towards voter education, like it used to. So, how does this tie into education? Simple. Many Americans lack basic knowledge about their own government, voting procedures, etc. This has been established by many surveys that have gone out over the last few years including one from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) whose report can be found here. In 2007, 71% of Americans failed the Civics Literacy test which you can take here. Additionally, the Nation's Report Card on Civics revealed that students are making progress in civics in fourth grade but not in grades eight or twelve. Why are we not putting more money into civics education? Funds from the third party voter registration groups fines should be applied to strengthen civic  knowledge in our state. That would be putting the money to good use.  I'll close with this quote from Teddy Roosevelt.

“It ought to be axiomatic in this country that every man must devote a reasonable share of his time to doing his duty in the political life of the community. . . . The people who say that they have not time to attend to politics are simply saying that they are unfit to live in a free community.” –Teddy Roosevelt, 

“The Duties of American Citizenship” 

January 1883, Buffalo, New York

White Paper Update

Hello all. I've been working on my white paper today and have about two paragraphs completed! whoo hoo! I think I know what I want to say, I'm just not sure how 'informal' or 'formal' the writing style should be. I've also requested some info from the Florida Department of Elections (via email today) so we will see if they get back to me.

So far I have this....

Florida’s Elections Law (HB 1355): Who knew college students were collateral damage?

To Combat the nickname “Flori-duh”--Florida Election Reform Act of 2001:

The 2000 election was a catastrophic event that put Florida’s failure of an election process front and center. Because of the unpleasant aftermath of the 2000 election, Florida officially implemented early voting in 2004 as part of the post-2000 election reform (Florida Election Reform Act of 2001). To combat the nickname “Flori-duh”, which was being used by the media because of the 2000 election, Floridians expressed that they wanted election reform and the Florida State Legislature listened (McManus, 2003).  The bill was overwhelmingly passed by the legislature (unanimous in the House and 38 Yeas and 2 Nays in the Senate). Reforms included: precinct-based voting technology, prohibit punch cards and other antiquated voting systems in Florida, provide $2 million dollars for the development and implementation of a statewide centralized voter registration database by June 2002, allow a voter whose name does not appear on the voter registration roll to vote a provisional ballot that will be counted if the voter is subsequently found to be properly registered to vote (McManus, 2003).

Those with ‘Some College’ Voting Percentages in Florida:

Since the 2004 election, when Florida implemented early voting, 60.8% of Floridians (those with ‘some college’) voted in the 2004 election, 25% in the 2006 election, 63.9% in 2008, and 29.6% in 2010. Fast-forward ten years, and the state legislature...

Does it seem like I'm on the right track? Feedback appreciated! I'm trying to follow the Anchin Center's Issue 1:5: Florida's School Funding, Property Tax Reform, and Equity: Florida Voters to Decide. 

Research Update

Trying to get all my thoughts together. Also downloaded a few of the Anchin Policy Briefs to help guide my writing. I found one on the legislative session that I hope will prove useful for my own writing. More to come this weekend. It's crunch time.

I've been keeping watch

I've been keeping watch on what is transpiring between the US Justice Department and the Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning over the new election law. The ACLU and the NAACP have both weighed in with their own opinions and urging the Justice Department to essentially kill the bill. They have sent letters, which you can find here. Nothing new has come about since my last post. In regards to my white paper, I am currently mulling over my ideas for the paper and how I see this law affecting college students (mainly the provisional ballot and early voting aspect).

Happy belated Fourth to all!