Uncommon Knowledge
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ORLANDO, Fla. – Extra Floridians than ever earlier than are voting by mail.
In 2020, greater than 4.8 million Floridians voted by mail, 2 million greater than the quantity of people that voted in 2018 and in 2016.
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Whereas the pandemic was an element within the variety of folks opting to mail in a poll as an alternative of displaying up in individual, utilization of the vote-by-mail possibility in Florida has been rising over the previous decade.
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Orange County Supervisor of Elections Invoice Cowles mentioned the comfort of voting by mail is fashionable with Central Florida’s service business staff.
“The overwhelming majority of our voters don’t work a standard 40-hour work week, our voters don’t have the choice to take day out on Tuesday to go to the polls,” Cowles mentioned. “I believe voters, significantly in the course of the pandemic, discovered the comfort of getting that poll mailed to them, filling it out within the privateness of their residence, and returning it.”
Cowles mentioned the massive query is whether or not numbers might be as excessive for the 2022 election. Election turnout numbers, usually, are usually decrease for midterm elections to start with. Plus, adjustments in Florida legislation might result in additional hoops that would cease folks from voting by mail.
With a major developing on Aug. 23 and a basic election on Nov. 8, here’s what you should know if you wish to vote by mail in 2022.
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A voter can request a poll be mailed to them by contacting their county supervisor of elections workplace. Yow will discover an inventory of the county places of work within the state on the Florida Division of Elections web site.
That request could be:
Known as in
Made in individual on the workplace
Mailed, faxed or emailed in. In case you do that, you have to present a signed request (within the case of an electronic mail, you have to scan a signed letter and ship it in as an attachment)
All requests should have this info:
Voter’s full identify
Date of delivery
Deal with
The voter’s Florida driver’s license quantity, identification card quantity, or final 4 digits of their social safety quantity
In a brand new change by the Florida Legislature, these identification numbers are required to be on file with the county supervisor of elections workplace with a view to get your VBM poll request authorized.
“Simply over 9,000 voters in Orange County should not have these numbers on their file,” Cowles mentioned. “That’s as a result of on the time they registered these numbers weren’t required. So these folks must submit that info on a brand new voter registration software and submit it earlier than we are able to take their submission request.”
To try this, you’ll need to fill out a voter registration kind to replace the knowledge your county has on file, Cowles mentioned. Yow will discover an inventory of the county places of work within the state on the Florida Division of Elections web site.
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In Florida, one vote-by-mail poll request lasts for all elections in a calendar yr. So should you make a poll request for the Aug. 23 major, you shouldn’t must make one for the November basic election.
For voters who’ve been voting by mail for some time, this can be a change to earlier years when a poll request would final for 2 federal election cycles. The Florida Legislature made this modification in 2021.
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Unsure if you should make a brand new request for a vote by mail poll? You may go to your county’s supervisor of elections web site and discover out should you want a brand new one. Yow will discover an inventory of the county places of work within the state on the Florida Division of Elections web site.
Sure. A right away member of the family or a authorized guardian can request a poll on a voter’s behalf.
The individual requesting the poll should embrace their tackle, driver’s license quantity, ID card or final 4 digits of their social safety quantity, and their relationship to the voter, along with the voter’s info. If the request is being mailed in, the requestor should present a signature as effectively.
VBM poll requests have to be submitted 10 days earlier than an election — Aug. 13 for the Florida major this yr, and Oct. 29 for the final election.
The elections supervisor then has two days to get the poll out to you.
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After that deadline, you’ll be able to all the time go to the supervisor of elections workplace in your county, make that request in individual and decide up your poll.
Nonetheless, Cowles factors out if you will do this, you may as effectively simply vote early, since you can be within the midst of the early voting interval.
In case you make a mistake in your poll, contact your county supervisor of elections workplace and they’ll ship you a brand new poll. You may’t repair a mistake in your poll after you ship it in, so ensure you’re sure about your responses earlier than you ship return your poll.
All VBM ballots have to be became your county supervisor of elections workplace by 7 p.m. on election day. Ballots which are postmarked on election day however not returned till after election day won’t be accepted.
There are 3 ways to show in a poll:
1. Mail it by a transport service just like the U.S. Postal Service
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2. Flip it in to the county supervisor of elections workplace in individual
3. Drop it off in a safe poll consumption field in the course of the early voting interval
In case you plan to mail it again to the supervisor’s workplace, Orange County Supervisor Invoice Cowles says it’s finest to get the poll in as quickly as potential.
“Let’s perceive, you don’t get subsequent day service with the (U.S. Postal Service), and in case you are mailing it, mail it sooner slightly than later,” Cowles mentioned. “In case you consider it from the postal facet, there is no such thing as a mail on Sunday. In case you ship it on Saturday, there’s no assure it’s going to get to me on Monday or Tuesday night time.”
Cowles additionally means that, if you will be out of state when you should flip in your poll, that you just think about using UPS or FedEx to ship in your poll to verify it will get there on time.
Within the final legislative session, the Florida Legislature changed drop packing containers with “safe poll consumption” packing containers. These packing containers might be obtainable in counties in the course of the early voting interval. The packing containers have to be staffed.
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Cowles mentioned the packing containers might be obtainable at early voting areas throughout working hours. There may also be a 24-hour depository field on the supervisor of elections workplace on Kaley Road.
Many, however not all, Central Florida counties embrace a “return postage paid” envelope together with your VBM poll. The counties that do embrace:
Brevard
Lake
Marion
Orange
Osceola
Polk
Volusia
Flagler, Seminole and Sumter counties don’t present a return postage-paid envelope.
A signature is required on the return envelope to confirm who’s mailing within the poll. The signature is matched up with the one the county supervisor of elections has in your file.
If you’re apprehensive about your signature being seen and used for id theft because it makes its manner again to the elections workplace, Cowles says voters can put the poll and envelope in one other envelope and mail it again that manner.
However the poll itself have to be in that return envelope the elections workplace gives you, and that envelope have to be signed.
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“As voters age, well being points, getting old points, many citizens wind up printing their identify, as a result of they need us to understand it’s them and may’t do the cursive,” Cowles mentioned. “And likewise the youthful era not being taught cursive. So we take these issues under consideration.”
Cowles mentioned the employees checks each signature towards the voter’s file, and if there’s a discrepancy you’ll obtain a “remedy affidavit.” This offers you an opportunity to remedy your poll, as much as two days after the election.
Cowles mentioned the supervisor will attempt to contact the voter any manner they will, so be sure you have contact info on file with the county election’s workplace. It is a good purpose to get your poll in sooner slightly than later.
You too can all the time replace the signature on file with the county elections workplace.
A voter can flip in ballots of relations and as much as two ballots by people who find themselves not relations.
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That is to curb so-called “poll harvesting.”
Cowles mentioned whereas his staff might not all the time ask you to confirm which ballots are yours and which belong to relations, he mentioned there’ll doubtless be volunteer ballot screens out and about and watching.
You may go to your county supervisor of elections web site and monitor the standing of your poll, whether or not it has been returned, whether or not it’s been accepted, and whether or not there’s something you must repair.
In case you’re nonetheless unsure if you wish to vote by mail, Cowles provides this final insider tip.
You know the way in an election yr your mailbox fills up with candidate advertisements and also you begin getting robocalls? It’s as a result of political candidates know throughout voting once you vote, and should you request a vote by mail poll.
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“The simplest strategy to cease it, is to ship your vote by mail poll sooner slightly than later,” Cowles mentioned. “As a result of as soon as the candidate sees that you just’ve despatched your poll in, they don’t need to spend any extra money on you.”
Copyright 2022 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has vetoed a bill that would have given the state the power to close beaches if tests show water does not reach the state’s health standards.
DeSantis made the call this week, despite Floridians being warned against swimming due to “fecal pollution” just two months ago.
If the bill had gone through, local authorities of beach waters and public bathing places would have had to notify the Department of Health whenever testing water was below recommended health standards.
The Department of Health then “shall require the closure of beach waters and public bathing places that fail to meet the department’s standards if it deems closure is necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public,” the bill read.
But Desantis wrote in his veto letter that the bill “suffers from a fatal infirmity” as it “grants authority to the Florida Department of Health (DOH) to close beaches, waterways, and swimming pools.”
He said: “Health Departments like DOH can serve a valuable function, but they should not be vested with the power to supersede local jurisdictions regarding the operation of beaches.
“I have made water quality and protecting Florida’s natural resources a priority and my Administration will continue to do so, but this grant of power to DOH over Florida beaches is ill-advised.”
On June 13, the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County Healthy Beaches program issued health advisories for Dubois Park, Sandoway-Delray Beach and South Inlet Park.
Sampling showed bacterial levels to be more than 71 colonies per milliliter of marine water, putting the beaches’ results in the “poor” category.
Anything that is seen as “poor” should be “considered a potential health risk to the bathing public,” according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
At the end of April, the same department told residents not to swim at several beaches, including Midtown Beach and Dubois Park, in Jupiter.
Water in these two areas had tested positive for high levels of enterococcus bacteria, which the department said “is an indication of fecal pollution.”
It added that this may “come from stormwater runoff, pets and wildlife, and human sewage” and could put swimmers at an “increased risk of illness,”
In both spots, water was recorded as “poor”, meaning it measured 71 or greater enterococci per 100 milliliters of marine water.
Infections from enterococci “are typically not considered harmful to humans, but their presence in the environment may indicate that other disease-causing agents such as viruses, bacteria, and protozoa [a microorganic parasite] may also be present,” according to the EPA.
Newsweek contacted DeSantis’ press office, via its email address, for comment on this context and was directed to his veto letter.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer reported Thursday that former Florida Gators guard Zyon Pullin signed a two-way player deal with the Miami Heat after going undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft.
It’s no surprise that Pullin stayed in Florida to sign with the Heat. Miami hosted the guard in early June. Furthermore, his college production more than shows that he can hang with almost anyone in this year’s draft.
With the Gators, Pullin averaged 15.5 points per game, 4.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds. He also set Florida’s single-season record with a 3.77 assist-to-turnover ratio, which was the best ratio by an SEC player since 2000.
Moreover, he reached double figures in 23 straight games to start his career, which set a new program record.
As a result of his terrific performances in his only season with the Gators, Pullin was named to first-team All-SEC.
This might not be how Pullin hoped to make an NBA roster, but the most important thing is that he has a chance in the league with the Heat.
Pullin will get the chance to learn from one of the best coaches the NBA has ever seen in Erik Spoelstra. Moreover, the Heat have a great culture and are known to give chances to anyone regardless of their draft position.
Miami currently has multiple players who were undrafted but earned significant minutes during the regular season the past couple of years. Jamal Cain, Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin are the most notable examples.
Robinson and Martin have earned second NBA contracts too, which is no small feat for an undrafted player.
The Heat are as good of a landing spot as any for Pullin. Now, the ex-Florida guard must prove he belongs.
As a two-way player, Pullin can play with both the Heat and for the organization’s G-League affiliate. However, he will not able to play all 82 games at the NBA level.
The league rules state that “players under NBA two-Way contracts may be active for up to 50 games with their NBA team.”
FLORIDA – Florida construction law is changing, cutting the amount of time homeowners have to file construction defect claims by 30%.
Beginning Monday, July 1, the time frame to report construction defects in the state of Florida will shift from 10 years to seven years.
The change in the law affects anyone who owns a home that was recently built, but it especially impacts homeowners in that 7-to-10-year time frame.
The News4JAX I-TEAM receives complaints regularly about construction defects in newer-built homes. Most recently, we heard from a Middleburg homeowner dealing with mold, humidity, and improper ventilation issues.
“It’s a brand-new house. It’s unacceptable,” homeowner Erin LePage said last year. “If we could have been here for our walkthrough, it would have been different.”
RELATED | ‘It’s unacceptable’: Middleburg homeowner says new build troubled with mold, humidity, ventilation issues
Brian Crevasse, a board-certified construction attorney, said this change will impact hundreds of thousands of people in Florida — if not more.
Senate Bill 360 was signed into law last summer changing the time limit from 10 years to seven years.
Crevasse said this is a real concern because he deals with clients who are often past the seven-year threshold when reporting construction defects.
“Oftentimes, these defects are actually concealed. And you wouldn’t be able to necessarily see that you have water intrusion, just by taking a walk around the building and looking at it, you would have to actually remove some of the exterior facade to look for the types of issues that we typically see,” Crevasse said.
The new law also changes when the countdown starts for filing claims. Previously, the time frame started when you got possession of your home or when construction was finished.
MORE | Worried about construction fraud? Here are some ways you can protect yourself
“If you are a homeowner or association that was built, you know, seven to 10 years ago, you know, you’re going to want to run out and get counsel as soon as possible to see if there’s a way to file by Monday. And then, for everybody else that may have homes that are four or five, six years old, you know, you’re just going to want to be extremely diligent about pursuing any potential issues that you might see with your home going forward so that you don’t run out of time at that seven years,” Crevasse said.
The new law starts the countdown from the earliest of the following events:
When the building gets a temporary or permanent certificate of occupancy
At the completion of the building
At the abandonment of construction, even without completion
Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
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