Ms Rebecca is the New Chief of Staff to City of Miami Commissioner Ken Russell. By Geniusofdespair

I like Rebecca Wakefield and have followed her career for the past 10 years. She has often been quoted in this Blog when she was a reporter for the Sun Post.   After the Sun Post closed down, she worked for Mayor Matti Bower of Miami Beach, she also worked for SEIU Local 1991 and tried her hand at Political Consulting in 2009.

I do like Wakefield's humor (she wrote this about a Trump Building in 2008):

“Every time I drive through Sunny Isles Beach, I see an advertisement wrapped around the front of the Trump Towers project. It is a glossy black and white photo of four smug developers marring a perfectly good chain-link fence for about half a block. The men are the decidedly un-photogenic Dezers (Michael and toadlike son Gil) as well as the follically challenged Donald Trump and Jorge Perez.”

She wrote this about encouraging people to vote in 2007:

“Year in and year out, it’s the same story. A handful of the usual suspects (plus one or two grass-roots candidates who usually don’t have a shot) hires someone from the small group of political consultants who run nearly every local election.” She goes on to describe our broken system of why we get shitty people in office over and over, her reason why:

“It works because most of the rest of the populace doesn’t vote.”

She says 10% to 15% vote in most elections. Her goal is to get the people out to vote with fun events:

“Take a Politician Bowling” night and “Beach Ballot Bingo.” We’ll also be doing limo rides to the polls and red carpet exit polling, among other nutty stunts. The idea in general is simply to have fun, connect with people and get them thinking about local politics.”

 Rebecca: In 2007 that was a good idea.

Now, when it comes to voting, I am for NO ONE FROM THE RUST BELT VOTING and NO ONE FROM THE MIDDLE STATES. Actually, voting is no way to pick anyone anymore, it is an obsolete exercise. We just do a piss poor job. UNLESS, we can vote in primaries of both parties. That would weed out extremists.

Back to Rebecca, good luck at your new post with Commissioner Ken Russell.

Miami-Dade County Voting By The Numbers in 2016 Presidential and Mayoral Election. By Geniusofdespair

Almost 1 Million people voted for President: 986,823. Now you would think that in the Senate race the numbers would be pretty similar. But, No. In the Senate race 970,909 people voted. What happened to the other 15,000 votes? Did those people only vote in one race and then make an exit? If we go down the ballot to the Mayor's race there are more surprises or just more people fell asleep after one or two votes. Remember the same amount of people -- almost a million -- should have voted in the County Mayor's race. In the Mayoral race 851,775 people voted or 135,048 less than in the Presidential race. Since the two candidates in the Mayoral race were 99,293 apart, those 135,048 people not voting could have been the difference.

In the Mayoral  race, Early Voting was king. Absentee Ballots was second and Election Day came in third.

In the Presidential election results for Miami Dade County, you see the same trend in voting methods.

The same held true for the Senate race, Early Voting was the preferred method of voting with Absentees coming in second and Election Day third, for both Dems and Pubs. By Hillary's double lead in early voting, it is easy to see where Dems prefer to vote. That would mean that in the Mayoral race, Carlos Gimenez got his jump in Early Voting from the Dems.

If you need a slate card...you should not be voting. By Geniusofdespair

VOTE NO ON AMENDMENT 1.  DID YOU GET THAT?

This is a part of a slate card:

do not vote yes to Amendment 1 because it says it on a slate card.

Most slate cards are phony. DO NOT LOOK AT NOR VOTE FROM SLATE CARDS, I DON'T CARE WHO PRINTED IT. They even put photos of Obama on one side to lure Democrats into believing they are righteous cards. They are paid for by bad people trying to manipulate you. For the record, I don't like party official slates either. They should do away with all slates because people get too confused between real and unregulated slates.

I have reason to believe those wicked utilities are using slate cards to have you vote yes on Amendment 1.

If you read Amendment 1, it really sounds good but it is not. All the environmental groups are against it, I am against it, if you care about the future of solar energy in our State, you should be against it too.

Carl Hiaasen of the Miami Herald said about Amendment 1:

Let the scum shine.

The solar-power amendment on Florida’s ballot is a slick, oily fraud. Promoted as a way to expand solar energy and protect residents who want it, Amendment 1 would do just the opposite.

All you need to know is who’s bankrolling the massive advertising campaign: Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy, Tampa Electric Co., Gulf Power, and a few nonprofits funded heavily by Exxon Mobil and a pair of right-wing billionaire brothers named Koch.

When is the last time they all banded together to do something wonderful for the average consumer?

These are not fans of broadening our energy choices. These are politically powerful utility and oil interests seeking to restrict and monopolize the burgeoning solar industry. The last thing they want is free-market competition. The prospect worries them so much that they’ve forked out almost $22 million to push for Amendment 1.

To Sign or not to sign the All Voters Vote Petition. By Geniusofdespair

I am torn on whether to sign the All Voters Vote Petition which allows all voters in Florida (not just people in the particular party) to vote in the other party's primary. Independents would finally have a vote and Democrats could vote for Republicans.

I would have to give up my hope that Donald Trump becomes the nominee if this were in effect. What this petition would do is dilute the nitwits of the both parties so a more viable candidate would end up as the final candidate.  That would mean if Republicans or Democrats made a concerted effort, they could scuttle a good candidate from the other party.  That could be very bad.

The petition, of course, would hurt Democrats and help Republicans in this particular election because they have so many screwball candidates (but it would not be in effect this election). And, being one of the nitwits with an eye on Trump, it would certainly hurt me.  Let's discuss the pros and cons of this petition (aiming for the 2016 election) in comments. Would you sign it?

Here is the petition summary, it is not going to be any fun unless there are presidential candidates included, can you amend it?

• "Replaces closed political party primaries for congressional and state partisan elective offices with primaries where all qualified registered voters may vote regardless of party affiliation of the voter or candidate. Qualified candidates appear on one ballot. The top two vote getters per office advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. Candidates nominated by a party appear on the ballot as that party’s nominee; other candidates may indicate their party preference on the ballot.”

Lawyer Gene Stearns, leading the effort on the petition drive, took the time to leave this comment to alleviate some of our fears:

Thanks to Ellen Friedin and the many others who have worked tirelessly for so many years to bring us a Constitutional standard for districting that precludes those drawn to favor parties or incumbents, and thanks to a Supreme Court with the strength of purpose to enforce it, districts will be drawn to rationally reflect geographical constraints. No matter how the districts are drawn, however, natural population distribution will result in urban districts having a higher percentage of Democrats than the less populated Republican districts. Today 55% of all new voters are registering as no party affiliation and, by the time of the next census will make up the largest political group in the State. They care enough to register but are eliminating themselves from election to the Congress and legislature. A system that assures a favorable outcome for one side or the other is inherently undemocratic. In a top two system with all voters voting, the winner will have to look at the entire constituency as his or her employers instead of the fringes of the existing parties. No system is perfect. The existing system exceeds tolerable limits of imperfection.

 Gene, thank you for helping our readers to make an informed decision. I can't stand the Republican District Drawing Guru - Miguel DeGrandy. He is one pain in the ass.

Miguel DeGrandy drawing districts favorable to Republicans.

Election Results 2014 Miami Dade County. By Geniusofdespair

Statewide as of 8:22pm

ABSENTEE BALLOTS PRIOR TO ELECTION DAY RESULTS ONLY: see more results later (7:48 early voting is NOW posted)

AVENTURA: MAYOR
Enid Weisman 82.71%
Les Mendel Winston 17.29%

AVENTURA: COMMISSIONER - SEAT 2
Gustavo F. Blachman 37.37%
Denise Landman 62.63%

AVENTURA: COMMISSIONER - SEAT 6
Marc Narotsky 62.10%
Jonathan S. Rogoff 37.90%

CUTLER BAY: MAYOR
Peggy Bell 56.64%
Art Nanni 43.36%

CUTLER BAY: RES. AREA COUNCIL MEM. - SEAT 1
Mary Ann Mixon 55.84%
Ed Wolmers 44.16%

MIAMI LAKES: COUNCILMEMBER - SEAT 6
Ceasar Mestre 70.32%
Xiomara V. Pazos 29.68%

NORTH MIAMI: MAYOR
Kevin A Burns 54.25%
Smith Joseph 45.75%

PALMETTO BAY: MAYOR
Peter England 21.56%
Patrick Fiore 22.80%
Eugene Flinn 30.54%
Shelley Stanczyk 25.10%

PALMETTO BAY: COUNCIL MEMBER - SEAT 1
Karyn Cunningham 69.45%
David 'Dave' Zisman 30.55%

PALMETTO BAY: COUNCIL MEMBER - SEAT 3
Henry Clifford 36.12%
Larissa Siegel Lara 41.13%
James Archie Shedd 22.75%

PALMETTO BAY: EXPANSION OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Yes 48.36%
No 51.64%

County Questions:
CO. QUESTION: ALLOW LIBRARIES IN PARKS
YES 60.94%
NO 39.06%

CO. QUESTION: SOCCER PARK EXEMPTION
YES 50.50%
NO 49.50%

CO. QUESTION: PROTECTING PRESERVATION LANDS (Campground really)
YES 55.22%
NO 44.78%

CO. QUESTION: FIU EXPANSION
YES 65.65%
NO 34.35%

CO. QUESTION: FUNDING COURT PROJECTS
For Bonds 31.62%
Against Bonds 68.38%

Miami-Dade Numbers Only:

Governor
Rick Scott 47.13%
Charlie Crist 50.12%

Attorney General
Pam Bondi 51.58%
George Sheldon 46.64%

CFO
Jeff Atwater 54.17%
William Rankin 45.83%

Commissioner of AG
Adam Putnam 53.99%
Thad Hamilton 46.01%

CONST AMEND 1- WATER & LAND CONSERVATION

YES 71.71%
NO 28.29%

CONST AMEND 2- MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA

YES 51.28%
NO 48.72%

CONST AMEND 3- APPT JUDICIAL VACANCIES

YES 50.03%
NO 49.97%

Congressional Representative (not Monroe)
Carlos Curbelo 57.77%
Joe Garcia 42.23%

STATE REPRESENTATIVES:

STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 100
Martin A. 'Marty' Feigenbaum (REP) 39.11%
Joseph S. 'Joe' Geller (DEM) 58.59%

STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 103
Manny Diaz, Jr. (REP) 72.13%
Benjamin F. De Yurre (DEM) 27.87%


STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 105
Carlos Trujillo (REP) 66.89%
Carlos A. Pereira (DEM) 33.11%


STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 108
Daphne Campbell (DEM) 85.11%
Cedon Saintil Jr (NPA)14.89%

STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 110
Jose Oliva (REP) 73.95%
Nelson Milian (NPA) 26.05%

STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 111
Bryan Avila (REP) 72.05%
Mariano Ariel Corcilli (DEM) 27.95%

STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 112
Daniel Diaz Leyva (REP) 55.18%
Jose Javier Rodriguez (DEM) 44.82%

STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 114
Erik Fresen (REP) 57.29%
Daisy Josefina Baez (DEM) 39.69%
Ross Hancock (NPA) 3.01%

STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 115
Michael Bileca (REP) 61.47%
Kristopher D. Decossard (DEM) 38.53%

STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 116
Jose Felix Diaz (REP) 71.49%
Juan Carlos Cuba (DEM) 28.51%
0
STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 117
Carmen Sotomayor (REP) 32.10%
Kionne L. McGhee (DEM) 67.90%

STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 118
Frank Artiles (REP) 63.10%
Omar Rivero (DEM) 36.90%

STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 119
Jeanette M. Nunez (REP) 66.02%
Milagro S. Ruiz (DEM) 33.98%

COUNTY JUDGE, GROUP 19
Frank Bocanegra 49.06%
Jacqueline 'Jackie' Schwartz 50.94%


I skipped some races I wasn't following. Use the link above to see them. Below pictures of voting today around Miami Dade County.

Cutler Bay

Palmetto Bay

Palmetto Bay

Jose Javier Rodriguez at Miami Dade County Auditorium

Kendall

Kendall

Miami Shores

Voter

Miami Dade Public library Voting Precinct Downtown

Protect Article 7 of the Charter: When will it end? Guest Blog By Blanca Mesa

 The Herald is so wrong on their endorsement of the changes to our charter's Article 7.

Wow. So disappointed in these positions that support privatization of public lands, development in protected natural areas and cannibalizing  our meager public parkland for library buildings. Neither library or park advocates support that referendum.

We need more libraries fully funded, more parks and full protection of our natural areas, like the Pinelands in Camp Matecumbe and Richmond Pinelands ( where the same County Parks department wants to give forested parkland to a theme park operator which wants taxpayers to pay nearly $150 million in upfront development costs. )

Commercialization and development of public parklands just further erodes our quality of life and deprives future generations of green space and natural areas in an increasingly dense and urbanized city.

(I totally agree with Blanca Mesa)

Florida Rules Again! Slowest Voting. By Geniusofdespair

Source: 2012 Survey of the Performance of American Elections, conducted by Charles Stewart III of M.I.T.

Grand Jury Report Released on Absentee Ballot Voting. By Geniusofdespair

Read the grand jury report addressing absentee ballot fraud. Or, if you don't have time, read the much shorter Miami Herald article today Absentee voting fraud clouds confidence in tight election results.

In my view, these are the 3 most important recommendations from the Grand Jury's 23 recommendations:

* RETURN TO REQUIRING A WITNESS SIGNATURE.
* MAKE IT A FELONY TO BE CAUGHT WITH MORE THAN 2 BALLOTS.
* DO NOT RELEASE THE NAMES OF VOTERS WHO REQUEST ABSENTEE BALLOTS TO POLITICAL PARTIES, CANDIDATES AND PAC'S.

'Phantom' Requests  - Here is
how it was done. Hit to enlarge.

Here is the shocker in the report as told in the Miami Herald:

"Grand jurors made an astounding revelation: A county software vendor discovered that a clandestine, untraceable computer program submitted more than 2,500 fraudulent, “phantom” requests for voters who had not applied for absentee ballots in the August primary."

 That sucks so bad, I am angry beyond anger.

Fernandez Rundle and Rebeca Sosa: Don't let them put this Grand Jury report on a shelf.


Hit read more for the Executive Summary of the Grand Jury report, including the recommendations:

Read The Miami New Times Follow Up on My Reseach: Voter Suppression by Income? By Geniusofdespair

When I did my research on voter turnout around the County and posted it November 13th I was left with questions about why some African American areas of Miami Dade County did not get out and vote in high percentages. Even (middle class, African American) Miami Gardens didn't reach the heights of Coral Gables. Miami New Times following up, answered some of my questions and confirmed what I suspected. I think the New Times did a great job. Their research seems to confirm that rich people vote (Coral Gables, Pinecrest and areas of Miami Beach voted in very high numbers - above 80%) and financially challenged people (see New Times data) don't vote in as high a percentage (districts in Florida City, Homestead, Opa Locka. - 50% range). Everyone should read the Miami New Times article "Election Turn-Out: Crazy Coral Gables, Motivated Miami Beach, Hopeless Homestead." Michael Miller says:

"There's a very disturbing bigger picture here, however: the precincts with the best turnout tend to be wealthy and white, while those with the worst turnout are poor and black. No es bueno para la democracia, señores."

Miami New Times gave us credit in the article. Thank you for the shout-out and building on our research in such a constructive way.  Miami New Times says:

"But it's hard not to conclude that race and income aren't also heavy factors in who votes here in South Florida."

I agree. Even though faced with the potential of the first African American U.S. President losing, the African Americans in lower income areas did not vote in high numbers: Is it voter suppression by income? I saw the same trends in the 2008 election (see comments for numbers) when Obama was first elected. What can be done to help minorities vote in greater numbers? If a minority president couldn't do it, what can?

On another note, Romney says Obama won with "gifts" to certain voters. Well the voting numbers by precinct in Miami Dade County don't support that Mitt. Try again.

Do your own votting research.

Voter Turnout by Cities/Areas in Miami Dade County. By Geniusofdespair

Here are some the best (in bold) and worst turnouts for the Nov. 6, 2012 election at some of the larger precincts and cities around Miami Dade County. Remember that the turnout for the County was 67.51%:

1) Precinct Number, 2) Municipality, 3) Registered Voters in Precinct, 4) Voter Turnout by Percentage:

004 Sunny Isles Beach 2,136, 62.59%
008 Bay Harbor Islands 1,142, 78.28%
009 Surfside 3,339, 74.24%
015 Miami Beach 893, 81.41%
020 Miami Beach 165, 83.76%
027 Miami Beach 877, 60.32%
033 Miami Beach 1,028, 58.95%
034 Miami Beach 718, 61.70%
037 Miami Beach 1,134 57.85%
051 Key Biscayne 2,107, 76.03%
107 Unincorporated 919, 62.68%
111 Aventura 4,377, 72.54%
123 N. Miami Beach 2,840 62.85%
125 N. Miami Beach 520, 61.35%
148 North Miami 1886, 66.65%
156 Miami Shores 1593, 81.29%
157 Miami Shores 1132, 80.06%
162 Unincorporated 1699, 63.51%
167 Unincorporated  2,275, 63.96%
169 North Miami 445, 62.35%
176 North Miami 590, 59.49%
179 Miami Shores 480, 80.40%
200 Unincorporated 3,473, 58.31%
201 Unincorporated 2,181, 53.05%
206 Miami Gardens 4,388, 77.48%
217 Miami Gardens 2,204, 75.73%
232 Unincorporated 1,320, 61.97%
246 Unincorporated 2,584, 50.23%
248 Unincorporated 3,124, 59.96%
265 Opa Locka 496, 64.52%
276 Miami Gardens 570, 58.07%
280 Opa Locka 512, 51.81%
304 Unincorporated 6,559, 57.43%
321 Hialeah 3,435, 61.66%
322 Hialeah 2,457, 55.35%
327 Hialeah 2,468, 60.98%
337 Hialeah 3,026, 62.59%
351 Unincorporated 4859, 60.79%
352 Miami Lakes 3,235, 78.79%
359 Hialeah 4,437, 57.07%
372 Unincorporated 1,149, 62.75%
390 Miami Lakes 3022, 77.63%
403 Unincorporated 5,548, 59.81%
410 Sweetwater 4,435, 60.95%
426 West Miami 1,697, 74.43%

Type of Voting for President in Miami Dade County. By Geniusofdespair

There is something unacceptable here. Can you find it? Almost 1,000 votes were provisional and of that they are overwhelmingly for Obama.  I think this number has to be examined. How did it get so high? Provisional ballots are what they give you at the polls to shut you up when they won't allow you to vote.  Why were so many given out to valid voters? Also, how many did they actually have that they didn't count in the election?

Let's all vote today. By Geniusofdespair

Come back about 7:30pm to see the absentee ballot and early voting results. In the meantime...




Link to video.

Link to our Election Endorsements.

ALERT THERE IS MORE TIME TO VOTE: TODAY and MONDAY! By Geniusofdespair

 UPDATE: 3:10 Doors unlocked people allowed to vote again. Maybe the chanting did it.

UPDATE: 2:46pm DORAL CLOSED DOWN OVERWHELMED BY VOTERS: PEOPLE ARE DEMANDING TO VOTE, "YELLING LET US VOTE!" read it in the Miami Herald (and watch the vido)...

“We had the best of intentions to provide this service today,” she said (Christina White of Elections). “We just can’t accommodate it to the degree that we would like to.”

Shortly after, however, the department locked its doors and shut down the operation without explanation. The people in line did not get to vote. “Let us vote!” they shouted.

This was written this morning:

VERY IMPORTANT:

In Miami-Dade, voters can request an absentee ballot in person, and turn it in, between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday, and between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday at the elections headquarters at 2700 NW 87th Ave., Doral.

YOU CAN VOTE TODAY!

The Election: some final thoughts. By Geniusofdespair

The early voting numbers yesterday were the highest for the week at 39,046. During early voting 235,733 people voted overall. Absentee ballots are at 188,593. That means 424,326 people have voted out of about 1,281,368 registered voters: a third of Miami Dade's registered voters have voted. In 2008 Miami Dade County had a 70.05% voter turnout or 872,260 ballots cast out of 1,245,138 registered voters.  If we again have a 70% turnout that would mean about 896,957 will vote in this election. So, almost half the people, who will probably vote in Miami Dade County, have already voted. Also remember, there will be more absentee ballots coming in on Monday (27,009 came in Friday so I would expect to see a number close to that on Monday).  Note: Always check my math!

We did not make endorsements on all State and County races but I did have opinions on a few (The ones in bold we did endorse together).

On the local front tomorrow, I would like to see:

Audrey Edmonson win in District 3 for County Commissioner.
Luis Garcia win in District 5 for County Commissioner.
Juan Zapata win in District 11 for County Commissioner.
Gwen Margolis win as State Senator in District 35 (I endorsed only. Gimleteye did not.)
Dwight Bullard win as State Senator in District 39. (I endorsed only. Gimleteye did not.)
Jose Javier Rodriguez win as State Representative in District 112.
Ross Hancock win as State Representative in District 114.
Jeffrey Solomon win as State Representative in District 115.

In municipal races I only have one opinion, and it is strong:
I want to see John Dubois lose for Vice Mayor of Palmetto Bay.

SEE OUR ENDORSEMENTS 

Aventura Early Voting Yesterday. By Geniusofdespair

I stopped at 3 early voting locations yesterday, only in Aventura did I NOT make it out of the car.

You have to understand Aventura, most of the city has no parking on the streets AT ALL. You can't even pay to park. I wanted to stop by the City Hall location and here is what happened.

The Aventura Government Center had no parking the sign advised to go to the park to park.

This is as close as I could get to the voting location in Aventura yesterday (see voters waiting in line top right of photo). There is a big plaza up there.

This is a line of cars waiting for a parking space to open up.

As instructed I went to the park. This is Founders Park entrance.  There was no directions there,  I just happened to know where it is. The top sign would have scared me enough. Geez you go to vote and you get videotaped. Anyway, the green sign said the lot was full, and it was. I had just come from the government center that lot was full and and I  also did go to the South parking lot.  All were filled. So there was no parking at about 1:30 yesterday, the time I finally got my ass in gear.  I went to 2 other  early voting locations and found parking within 5 minutes.

In contrast, here is how they accommodated people at the North Dade Regional Library. They opened up the front lawn of the library to help voters, not hinder them. The North Dade Regional Library had a 5 hour wait at  7:25am this morning.  They also have seating inside the library for the elderly. I took a video yesterday at this location.

Absentee Ballot Fraud, Don't Miss "Mock the Vote". By Geniusofdespair

Best in depth Absentee Ballot Fraud article that I have read.  Thank you Frank Alvarado and Miami New Times for "Florida Republicans' Ballot Fraud 2012: Mock the Vote." Great job!

On the Ballot: Miami Dade County Charter Questions. by Geniusofdespair

Coming off a world tour promoting my video, Ducks, I wanted to weigh in on the proposed Miami Dade County Home Rule Charter changes.  I disagree with the Miami Herald's assessment on 2 of them (in the paper this morning).

What we agree on:
1. Home Rule Charter Amendment Relating to Term Limits of County Commissioners
Vote: YES
2. Technical Amendments to Home Rule Charter
Vote:YES
3. Charter Amendment Requiring Extraordinary Vote to Include Additional Land within the Urban Development Boundary
Vote: YES
4. Charter Amendment Pertaining to Changes in Municipal Boundaries and Creation of New Municipalities
Vote: Herald says NO, I have no opinion.
7. Charter Amendment to put the Commission Chair in charge of procurement if the mayor has a conflict of interest. Vote: NO

The Miami Herald said Yes on these I say No:

5. Charter Amendment Regarding Penalties and Enforcement of Citizens’ Bill of Rights
Shall the Charter be amended to eliminate the provision providing for forfeiture of office if a public official or employee willfully violates the Citizens’ Bill of Rights and allow, in addition to suit in circuit court, the Commission on Ethics and Public Trust to enforce the Citizens’ Bill of Rights with penalties authorized by the Code?

Why on earth would we want to eliminate what I underlined. I do not understand why anyone would would not want to get rid of an official or employee who violates the Citizen's Bill of Rights. Maybe I am missing something. This is a 2 part question with one part being unacceptable.

6. Charter Amendment Related to Option for Filling Mayoral or County Commissioner Vacancy
Shall the Charter be amended to:
• Extend the time to conduct an election to fill a mayoral or commissioner vacancy from 45 to 90 days from the decision to call such election and provide a timeframe for qualification and any necessary runoff;
• Temporarily transfer, during a mayoral vacancy or incapacity, certain mayoral powers to the Commission Chairperson, Vice Chairperson or Commissioner chosen by the Board?

Another 2 part question with the first part being unacceptable. I do not believe we want the Commission Chairperson to be our mayor for 3 months. The Chair can do damage in 3 months. We did not ALL vote for the Chair, only one of 13 districts did. Too long for him/her to be acting Mayor. Also the extended time frame hurts because people's memories are short. Seijas might still be in office if this were 90 days (if you are recalled you can run again).

To recap on other questions on the ballot:

Again, we should all know to vote NO on ALL the State of Florida Constitutional Amendments. The Miami Herald and The League of Women Voters agree with me on this one.

Vote YES on the retention of the 3 Supreme Court Judges.

Miami Dade County Early Election Results in August 14 Primary. By Geniusofdespair

Early Voting Combined with Absentee Ballots Results, if the numbers aren't close you can figure out who is going to win without looking at the final numbers. After the finally tally is in I will up-date the numbers. Scratch that -- I am Las Vegas you are stuck with early voting/absenttee only. This election isn't that important to me to give up my whole night. You can tell a lot with the early numbers as everyone is cheating with absentees...the one who cheats the most will win.

Allen West in Republican primary has 71.51%. Lois Frankel has 63.81% over Kristin Jacobs' 36.19% (early voting and absentees).

Representative in Congress 

District 23: (Mostly Broward)
Karen Harrington 567
Ozzie DeFaria 280

District 24:
Frederica S. Wilson 8,519
Rudolph Moise 3,874

District 26: 
Joe Garcia 3,349
Gustavo Marin 341
Gloria Romero Roses 1,207

State Attorney:
Katherine Fernandez Rundle 17,431
Rod Vereen 9,080

State Senator, District 39:(ICK on this one, oops there is Monroe too)
Dwight Bullard 1,421
Ron Saunders 497
James Bush 2,104

State Representatives: (Broward too, don't have numbers)
State Representative District 100:
Joe Gibbons 978 (should get the Broward votes)
Sheldon Lisbon 1,049

State Representative District 103:
Renier Diaz de la Portilla 1,011
Manny Diaz, Jr. 1,428

State Representative, District 107:
John Patrick Julien 947
Barbara Watson 1,046

State Representative, District 108: FRAUD FRAUD ALERT
Alix Deslume 515
Daphne Campbell 1,774
Pat Santangelo 418

State Representative, District 109:
Cynthia A. Stafford 2,241
Bernadine Bush 1,313

State Representative, District 112: (Dems)
Jose Javier Rodriguez 580
Alex Dominguez 684

State Representative District 112: (Pubs)
Gustavo Barreiro 1,457
Alex Diaz de la Portilla 2,039

State Representative, District 113:
David Richardson 988
Mark Weithornn 886

State Representative, District  114: (brain dead district)
Erik Fresen 2,672
Amory Bodin 884

State Representative, District 115:
Michael Bileca 2,420
Eugenio Perez 856

State Representative, District 116: (More Brain Dead People)
Ana Rivas Logan 1,599
Jose Felix Diaz 3,998

State Representative, District 117:
Carmen Morris 330
Harold Ford 284
Kionne McGhee 774

State Representative, District  119:
Jeanette Nunez 2,640
Libby Perez 695

Property Appraiser:
Pedro J. Garcia 33,836
Carlos Lopez Cantera 41,249


Miami Dade County Commissioners:
District 1:
Barbara Jordan 2,564
Shirley Gibson 1,497

District 3: (predict runoff)
Audrey Edmonson 1,514
Alision Austin 690
Keon Hardemon 942

District 5: (predict runoff)
Bruno Barreiro 3,634
Luis Garcia 2,093
Calixto Garcia 646

District 9: FRAUD FRAUD ALERT
Dennis C. Moss 1,731 (surging ahead 9pm)
Alice Pena 1,334 (Spanish name...no other reason)

District 11:
Juan C. Zapata 3,097
Manny Machado 2,463

Mayor:
Carlos Gimenez 51,361
Joe Martinez 21,635

Repeal of County’s Pit Bull Dog Ban:
Yes 24,334
No 53,888

Judges - 11th Judicial Circuit:

Circuit Judge,  Group 8:
David C. Miller 36,582
Mauricio Padilla 32,522

Circuit Judge, Group 15:
Robert Coppel 29,476
Maria Elena Verde 39,421

Circuit Judge, Group 47:
Maria de Jesus Santovenia 30,083
Alix Jimenez Labora 36,;770

Circuit Judge, Group 49:
Teresa Mary Pooler 33,719
Victor DeYurre 36,396

County Judges:
County Judge, Group 10:
Diana Gonzalez 31,618
Ana Maria Pando 36,766


County Judge, Group 20: (loss on Non-Hispanic Name)
Fleur Jeanine Lobree 15,270
Michelle Alvarez Barakat 49,800

County Judge, Group 24:
Greer Elaine Wallace 15,339
Andrea Wolfson 35,530
Arthur Spiegel 17,749


County Judge, Group 27:
Jacci Suzan Seskin 17,725
Ivonne Cuesta 49,934

County Judge, Group 28:
Tanya Brinkley 34,727
Enrique Yabor 32,053


County Judge, Group 33:
Teretha Lundy Thomas 26,804
John Rodriguez 40,281


County Judge, Group 40: (Incumbant - The Non-Hispanic Name)
Don S. Cohn 29,585
Lourdes Cambo 38,365

(You are on your own on accuracy, I have to go and I am not double checking. This is such a crappy election.)

Daily Show Lampoons Florida's Voter Registration Laws. By Geniusofdespair

Hysterical, John Oliver delivers.....found the Daily Show video on the South Florida Daily Blog. John Fund's (pundit for the Right) face at 2:53 on the counter is priceless.

If You are Vacationing in August, Here is How to Vote. By Geniusofdespair

Many Floridians vacation in August. Here are dates so you can plan voting BEFORE going on your trip.

If you are going to be away mid August the easiest way to vote is by requesting an absentee ballot on line.  Early voting starts on August 4th. The election is August 14th.  You can have your absentee ballot sent to where you are vacationing if you will be away for the whole month. ABSENTEE BALLOTS BEGIN GOING OUT JULY 17TH.

Need a job? Become a poll worker. You can make between $105 and $168 for the days you work. Be warned election day is brutally long.