Broward Politics: Blacks Lag In Absentee Ballots, While Seniors Dominate

 

BY BUDDY NEVINS

 

 

 

The crystal balls being used to predict the August 18th primary are cloudy.

The latest absentee ballot requests for Democrats indicate that Blacks will not totally dominated the upcoming primary, as many political consultants believe. 

Blacks definitely have the numbers as the largest single ethnic bloc of registered voters in the Democratic Party. But registering isn’t voting. 

So far only roughly 29 percent of the requests are from Black voters. That compares with roughly 48 percent of the ballot requests from Whites. Hispanics and other ethnic groups such as Native Americans trail. (See the chart below for the actual numbers as of July 8.)

The absentee ballot requests illustrates a sad fact that Blacks have dealt with for years:

Too few Blacks vote. Black voters traditionally vote in smaller number than Whites.

Political strategist Dan Lewis of JNAC Communications & Management Services recalls a conversation he had with Fort Lauderdale Black leaders decades ago. He told them they could dominate politics in key areas if they had huge turn outs. 

“It never happened,” Lewis said. 

 

Dan Lewis

 

Broward Mayor Dale Holness is making a huge effort to turn out the Black vote next month. This following advertising being widely distributed among Democrats is attributed to him:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holness may be the wrong messenger to appeal to all Blacks because he is Caribbean-American. 

“There is a well-known split between Caribbeans and African-Americans,” Lewis opined. 

 

Older Voters Dominate

 

The absentee ballot request information also shows that older voters continue to dominate Broward elections. 

Voters over 65 years old comprise the biggest age group of those asking for absentee ballots — roughly 37 percent.

More than 70 percent of absentee ballots were requested by those over 45 years old. 

Some would say that the absentee ballot requests are skewed towards seniors because they are most fearful of Covid and don’t want to vote in person. 

That doesn’t means younger voters will flood the polling places for the primary. More likely younger folks will do what they traditionally do: Stay home.

Could this doom younger candidates, whose appeal has been aimed at millennials? Could this doom so-called Progressive Democrats, whose policies are said by some observers to be too radical for many seniors. 

Maybe. 

This is an unprecedented election where all bets are off. 

No door-to-door campaigning. No in-person political speeches. Local polls are questionable because who really is paying attention to anything political but Trump. And a record number of voters expected to vote by-mail.  

Anybody could win.

Has anybody got a Magic 8-Ball they could spare? 

 

XXXXX

Broward’s Democratic absentee ballot requests as of July 8 (click to enlarge).



13 Responses to “Broward Politics: Blacks Lag In Absentee Ballots, While Seniors Dominate”

  1. City activist Robert Walsh says:

    W/ a presidential election voters will take advantage of early voting.I think early voting should be extended by at least another week.U will see early voting will be huge- beating yrs.past participation.Emphasis should be on early voting not just mail in ballots.Early voting again will break all records.

  2. Rightwinger. says:

    Bye bye Madam Clerk. Time is long overdue. People this is Brenda Forman, not Howard.

  3. Ha Ha Ha says:

    Regarding the presumed Holness flyer shown above:

    (BROWARDBEAT NOTE: Some readers will run up against a pay wall if they click the Sun-Sentinel links below.)

    1) Vegina “Gina” Hawkins, Circuit Judge Group 50 race – DO NOT VOTE FOR THIS WOMAN. Here’s why:

    https://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/broward-judge-vegina-gina-hawkins-faces-suspension-after-grabbing-employee-by-the-neck-10306460

    2) Harold Pryor, State Attorney race – Mr. Pryor is a good candidate, but in this race there is an absolutely extraordinary candidate of color: David Cannady. See for yourself and vote for David Cannady:

    https://www.facebook.com/169743273213126/videos/319367969050867/

    3) Gordon Weekes, Public Defender race – I agree, and here’s why:

    https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/endorsements/fl-op-edit-endorsement-gordon-weekes-20200621-ydkbjhoc2ratpknqtcfzgbvpma-story.html

    4) Joe Scott, Supervisor of Elections race – Mr. Scott is a good candidate, but Chad Klitzman is an extraordinarily good candidate. See for yourself, and vote for Chad Klitzman:

    https://www.facebook.com/169743273213126/videos/267420680971166/

    5) Patti Englander Henning, Circuit Judge Group 18 race – Strongly agree. Judge Henning is the longest-serving judge in Florida, and for good reason. Her opponent, on the other hand, is a very poor candidate who should be very soundly rejected.

    https://www.facebook.com/169743273213126/videos/1404752239734746/

    6) 6) Brenda Forman, Clerk of Court race – Advocacy for this candidate reminds me of Redd Foxx in the TV series Sanford and Son. When Redd Foxx (“Fred Sanford”) caught his son Lamont saying something incredibly stupid, he would call Lamont over and have him position his ear directly in front of Fred’s mouth, whereupon Fred would immediately yell at the very top of his lungs: “ARE YOU CRAZY?!?!?”. Anyone who plans to vote for Brenda Forman needs to go stand in front of the late great Redd Foxx’s mouth immediately! Paul Lawrence Backman is the best candidate in this race. See for yourself, and vote for Paul Backman:

    https://www.facebook.com/169743273213126/videos/302462534472815/

    7) Ian Richards, Circuit Judge Group 30 race – Mr. Richards recently appeared on the League of Women Voters candidate forum (though he missed the Group 30 forum and had to do a make-up appearance in the Groups 16 & 27 forum instead), and his performance was very surprisingly impressive. This man is an extraordinary candidate and he fully deserves to be elected. See for yourself, and vote for Ian Richards:

    https://www.facebook.com/169743273213126/videos/639616966651059/

    8) George Odom, Circuit Judge Group 16 race – Mr. Odom is definitely the best candidate in this race. See for yourself, and vote for George Odom:

    https://www.facebook.com/169743273213126/videos/639616966651059/

    9) Natasha DePrimo, County Judge Group 31 race – Strongly agree, for the reasons already stated by Buddy Nevins here:

    https://www.browardbeat.com/court-candidate-lives-450-miles-from-broward/

    10) Frank Ledee, Circuit Judge Group 27 – Bad pick! Best candidate in this race is Meredith Chaiken-Weiss. See for yourself, and vote for Meredith Chaiken-Weiss:

    https://www.facebook.com/169743273213126/videos/639616966651059/

    Note: Since the League of Women Voters forums for Sheriff, County Court Group 22, and County Court Group 27 have not taken place yet (they are on July 13th and July 15th at 7 PM, and will be available online (even afterward) at https://www.facebook.com/BrowardLWV/videos/ ), I think it’s too early to make a final decision in any of those races.

    However, I’m leaning toward Gregory Tony as Sheriff,

    https://www.browardbeat.com/fields-sheriff-tony-had-no-right-to-hide-killing/#comments

    toward Allison Gilman for County Court Group 22,

    https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/endorsements/fl-op-edit-endorsement-linda-gilman-20200617-uf6eukcq3jcbzjqvgfjp2jkzz4-story.html

    and toward Phoebee Francois for County Court, Group 27.

    https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/endorsements/fl-op-edit-endorsement-phoebee-francois-20200617-5sebbecgxbgl7hjpzeyqaeopay-story.html

  4. Ha Ha Ha says:

    P.S. See also this detailed review of Gregory Tony’s performance as Sheriff which describes why Sheriff Tony’s performance is a very significant improvement over Scott Israel’s:

    https://tamaractalk.com/bso-sheriff-tony-gets-leaders-praise-22949

  5. People are stupid says:

    Yes the anonymous rants of ‘HaHaHa’ on an internet message board sounds like a totally reasonable way to pick your voting slate.

  6. Lindy Wren says:

    In 2016, the millenniums didn’t get off the couch to vote—but they sure were protesting the next day. Like I tell everyone: elections have consequences and we deserved what we got…..

  7. Ha Ha Ha says:

    Sun-Sentinel Endorsement: Put competence over politics at Broward elections office: Pick Chad Klitzman for Supervisor Of Elections

    https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/endorsements/fl-op-edit-endorsement-chad-klitzman-20200712-2gfqew4pfbctpmy6fvtur4xzaa-story.html

  8. Informed Voter says:

    Ha Ha Ha not very informed on Judge race in Group 18

    Henning has one of the lowest number of Trials in the courthouse in every one of the last 5 years AND one of the lowest number of days in trial in 5 years. I do not want a semi-retired Judge giving lame excuses for not working for her salary. Kristin Weisberg Padowitz is the better candidate.

  9. Ha Ha Ha says:

    Smart and experienced, incumbent Judge Patti Henning is the best choice

    Sun-Sentinel endorses the re-election of Broward Circuit Judge Patti Englander Henning in Group 18. Henning is clearly the better choice. The veteran jurist is smart and no-nonsense. Because of those traits and her vast experience, Chief Judge Jack Tuter has kept Henning in the Complex Civil Division, where she has handled many of Broward’s most challenging civil cases over the last decade. They include those arising from the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The cases that come before her require time-consuming preparation. She has a long and accomplished record of handling tough cases with a strong mind and a firm hand. Her professionalism explains why she’s gone unchallenged longer than any judge in Florida. She has earned another term.

    https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-edit-endorsement-judge-patti-henning-20200614-4olxqefqqjhb7bb6ynausehvsa-story.html

    https://judgepattihenning.com/

  10. Rightwinger says:

    Remember R,s and NPA,s can vote on Clerk of the Courts Election. Please get the Madam Dixon, Jenkins, Forman, out of office. Judge Speiser seems to have the most Administrative experience. Please vote, our staff depends on it.

  11. KC says:

    Ha Ha Ha you picked almost all the same candidates as I did after spending hours looking up the candidates. Only place we disagreed on is State Attorney.

  12. Just one vote says:

    Judge Henning is sister of Nikki Grossman. Good judge worth keeping.
    Either lawyer/ judge should run Clerk of Court.

  13. Ha Ha Ha says:

    Important new candidate statements here:

    Supervisor of Elections

    https://aclufljusticevoter.org/broward-county-supervisor-of-elections

    Sheriff

    https://aclufljusticevoter.org/broward-county-sheriff-candidate-questionnaires

    State Attorney

    https://aclufljusticevoter.org/broward-county-state-attorney-candidate-questionnaires