Florida
Maya Brown: The Purge — Florida’s threat to democracy, communities of color
Life comes at you fast. It’s less than four months until Primary Election Day, and as the 2024 Elections loom large on the horizon like a Florida summer shower, the Sunshine State finds itself embroiled in a contentious battle over voting rights — again.
Like Groundhog’s Day, but instead of worrying about packing up the peacoats or pulling out the crop tops, it’s glaring red flags about democracy on the line.
The attack on voting rights, from Florida’s Capitol to the Governor’s Mansion and the 7-person Supreme Court isn’t new. Recent changes in state law have led to a surge in inactive registered voters and a disproportionate purge of names from vote-by-mail rolls, with communities of color bearing the brunt of the impact.
From group chats to bar conversations, the alarms about shifting voter registration statistics are valid.
However, it’s like the title of one of America’s poignant civil rights leaders’ last books, “Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community.” It’s not just about who wins elections; this alarming trend threatens the very foundation of democracy and needs our attention — like six months ago.
“As goes Florida, so does the nation,” we’ve screamed cycle after cycle.
My home state has long been a battleground, but recent partisan legislative maneuvers have shifted races won and lost by less than one percentage point to a swing of a 20-point difference. Amendments to voting laws have introduced stringent criteria for maintaining active voter status — resulting in a staggering increase in the number of inactive registered voters.
Florida’s new laws, purportedly aimed at maintaining the integrity of the electoral system, have resulted in an unprecedented number of voters being labeled as inactive. Many of these individuals, predominantly from minority communities, already face barriers to participation in traditional voting methods.
Now, the intersections of transience and conflicting work schedules when polls are open make mail-in ballots a primary avenue for casting a ballot, but legislators just made it another hurdling task to remember to update your registration if you move and register to vote by mail every election.
Our civic duty to participate in our elections should be as convenient as it is to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. This isn’t a partisan issue — everyone should be concerned about the residual impacts of these blatant voter suppression tactics on registration and turnout.
In this climate of uncertainty, misinformation and voter apathy, we must take decisive action to make voter access easier. The key to winning this cycle? Reengage those affected by these discriminatory measures and who likely don’t even know it.
Getting an inactive voter to be active is a good 2-for-1 deal.
Voting by mail emerges as a crucial avenue for participation, offering convenience and accessibility to voters who may not know their registration is inactive, offering a trickle-down effect to regrow our vote-by-mail registration numbers.
Out of 14.7 million registered voters in Florida, 2 million are registered inactive; with 34% Democrats and 26% registered inactive Republican voters. Out of those 2 million inactive voters, 34% are voters of color.
May not seem like much in the millions, but in priority counties and tight races, we know less than 100 votes can make a difference. Now, let’s do some quick math — 60,000 Democrats and 71,000 NPAs are registered inactive in comparison to 36,000 Republicans in Hillsborough. 58,000 Democrats and 54,000 NPAs are registered inactive in comparison to 28,000 Republicans in Miami-Dade. 62,000 Democrats and 74,000 NPAs are registered inactive in comparison to 42,000 Republicans in Palm Beach County.
The ballot initiative to protect reproductive choice is rumored to be the biggest turnout asset this cycle. With 49% of all inactive voters being women, it’s anybody’s game. I guarantee you that registering a new woman voter is going to take more cash and time with less ROI without relational organizing than getting those 49% back on the rolls.
To counteract the disenfranchisement of marginalized communities, we must mobilize a concerted effort to encourage voting by mail. Organizations in the center-left ecosystem, faith leaders, and elected officials at every level of government should be shouting this information from rooftops. These grasstops leaders play a pivotal role in this endeavor, leveraging their expertise and previous history of engagement to reach out to disenfranchised communities, providing education, resources, and support to ensure that every voice is heard to avoid another red wave in 2024.
However, our collective efforts cannot stop there. We must advocate for comprehensive legislative reforms that dismantle discriminatory barriers to voting and uphold the fundamental principles of democracy. This includes challenging laws that disproportionately impact communities of color and advocating for policies that promote equitable access to the ballot box; but that’s another battle for another day.
So, when does “Flip Florida Blue” and “Make America Great Again” go from T-shirt slogans to quantifiable electoral strategy to register voters of color in off-cycles, bring their coalitions in to party leadership outside of affinity causes, and begin turnout before GOTV weekend?
In the face of adversity, we must reaffirm our commitment to democracy and justice. Nov. 6 isn’t just Election Day; matter of fact, let’s just call it Electoral Groundhog’s Day. Where we go from here is a choice that each party has to make with intentional effort to reengage disenfranchised voters.
It is time to reclaim the promise of democracy. It is time to ensure that no voter is left behind.
___
Maya Brown is a highly regarded educator, political consultant and lobbyist, known for her exceptional expertise across the Southeastern US. With years of experience in strategic facilitation, campaign management and government relations, Maya has successfully guided numerous political campaigns and initiatives to success. She has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a proven track record of delivering results for her clients. Learn more at www.MayaBrown.net and @MsMayaBrown.
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Florida
‘Living and working in Florida is like being in a toxic relationship,’ but the Northeast shows jarring differences, real estate founder says | Fortune
In a candid interview, top real estate agent and founder of SYKES Properties, Erin Sykes, got real about the state of the Florida real estate market. “Living and working in Florida is like being in a toxic relationship,” she said at the ResiDay conference in an interview with ResiClub editor Meghan Malas.
Now, Skykes, whose firm showcases multimillion-dollar deals in both Florida and the Northeast, said she’s watching two Americas diverge in real time. In the Northeast, she’s seeing bidding wars have returned in commuter suburbs like Monmouth County, N.J., and mid-Long Island, where buyers still fight for an acre and an elite school district. In Florida, by contrast, she described a market in withdrawal, nursing a hangover after a flurry of activity. “Just a couple years ago, we were being love-bombed and told how great we were,” she said, citing Florida’s burgeoning status as “Wall Street South,” a new finance hub. Now, things are “flat” or even heading downward.
Home prices in Florida have fallen 5.4% year-over-year, dragged down by a glut of aging condos facing six-figure special assessments and post-Surfside safety mandates. Single-family homes, meanwhile, remain relatively resilient, she noted. She characterized the Sunshine State’s housing scene as a cycle of boom, bust, and burnout. She’s always fueled by the belief that somehow, the next round will be different.
“Now we’re being told, ‘Oh, you’re too expensive,’ and kind of being discarded,” Sykes said. “You know, the conversation changes by the day, really.”
Noting that Florida has always been a boom-or-bust state, she said she sees signs of moderation rather than collapse. “Rather than being the boom up here and the bust way down here like we saw in 2008 and 2009, the waves are becoming flatter,” she said. While there may be a pullback in prices, “really, a 5% pullback is nothing when your house has appreciated 25%.”
For Florida, Sykes argued, even a flat market signals stability after years of breakneck appreciation—especially in Palm Beach, where home values have jumped as much as 200% in the past few years.
The challenge of dual market personalities
Sykes described jarring regional differences. In Florida as an agent, you’re “just trying to really push and pull and drag deals together, you’re getting discounts of 5%, 10%, 20% off list price,” but then in the Northeast you find yourself going into a bidding war. “It’s like having a multiple personality disorder.”
That volatility, she noted, reflects a broader split between regions that overheated during the pandemic and those returning to normal. The migration wave that sent high earners south may have turbocharged Florida’s boom but also exposed its fragility. Now, Sykes said, agents and homeowners alike are navigating two competing realities: the Northeast’s cautious recovery and the Southeast’s cooling after years of mania.
She also outlined a bifurcation within the Florida housing market: while single-family homes remain robust thanks to demand for space among incoming families, condos face mounting challenges. That’s difficult because they are “really what has been driving down the Florida market,” and they are facing new challenges from special assessments, strengthened structural regulations, and fallout from incidents like the Surfside collapse. Pre-selling of new-construction condos continues apace, she said, with West Palm Beach alone seeing many significant developments underway.
Sykes described a bifurcation between single-family homes and condos in Florida, since its exploding population is full of people who left Manhattan or Chicago and “wanted their own space.” She said single-family homes are doing well, and then “We’re seeing condos bifurcated, and then within that bifurcation of condos, a secondary bifurcation.”
“Florida,” she concluded, “you have to always take with a grain of salt.”
The Florida Gators coaching search could take a wild turn in November.
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The Gators fired head coach Billy Napier on Oct. 19 after starting the season 3-4. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin appears to be the top candidate for Florida, but it’s unclear if Kiffin has any intentions of leaving the Rebels amid a No. 6 spot in the first College Football Playoff ranking.
On Wednesday, Josh Pate set off a firestorm of speculation about USC head coach Lincoln Riley. During Wednesday’s episode of “Bussin With The Boys” podcast, Pate suggested Riley could be on the move.
“Let’s just keep an eye on Lincoln Riley at USC,” Pate said.
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Keith Niebuhr of On3 invited more speculation on Riley’s future with the Trojans. He put Riley on the hot board of candidates for the Gators.
Niebuhr reported that there isn’t “much chatter” about Riley and Florida (implying that there is some), but that more smoke about the USC head coach is likely to come.
“Because things look wide open (at least on the surface) after Kiffin, it’s worth adding Riley’s name to this list even though there has not yet been much chatter about him and the Gators,” Niebuhr wrote. “There has been some chatter, though unverified, that Riley might be interested in working back in his home state of Texas.
“It’s not yet known on our part if UF has any interest.”
Riley would not owe USC any money if he wanted a fresh start with a new program before his 10-year, $110 million contract is up at the end of the 2031 season.
Riley is 32-16 during his four seasons with the Trojans. Southern Cal is 6-2 this season before playing at home on Saturday against Northwestern.
Riley has not been able to replicate the same success at USC that he had at Oklahoma, when he went 55-10 in five seasons and won four Big 12 championships and made three CFP appearances.
Riley could figure he has a better chance of returning to the CFP with Florida than staying the course at USC.
For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.
High school football playoff brackets were revealed Thursday, and more than 40 high schools across Central Florida have a shot at a state title. Games start next Friday night, Nov. 14.
DeLand (7A), Edgewater (5A), Jones (4A), and Bishop Moore (3A) earned No. 1 seeds in the respective classes.
Class 1A will be decided on Monday, after the FHSAA granted a temporary injunction to allow The First Academy to play in the playoffs. The school was banned from this year’s playoffs after the FHSAA ruled the school violated recruiting rules and allowed players to practice with the team before they were enrolled.
Below is a breakdown of each bracket where Central Florida schools are playing, which are underlined. Rankings are respective to each region:
Class 7A, Region 1
No. 8 Creekside at No. 1 DeLand
No. 5 Winter Park at No. 4 Boone
No. 7 Hagerty at No. 2 Lake Mary
No. 6 Seminole at No. 3 Spruce Creek
Class 7A, Region 2
No. 8 Ridge Community at No. 1 Venice
No. 5 Plant City at No. 4 West Orange
No. 7 Winter Haven at No. 2 Riverview Sarasota
No. 6 Ocoee at No. 3 Sumner
Class 7A, Region 3
No. 8 East Ridge at No. 1 Vero Beach
No. 5 Lake Nona at No. 4 St. Cloud
No. 7 Dr. Phillips at No. 2 Jupiter
Class 6A, Region 1
No. 8 Oviedo at No. 1 Buchholz
No. 6 Evans at No. 3 Pace
Class 6A, Region 2
No. 8 Melbourne at No. 1 Armwood
No. 5 Riverview at No. 4 Viera
No. 7 Plant at No. 2 South Lake
No. 6 Durant at No. 3 Osceola
Class 5A, Region 1
No. 7 Middleburg at No. 2 Mainland
Class 5A, Region 2
No. 8 Lake Gibson at No. 1 Edgewater
No. 7 Wesley Chapel at No. 2 Lakeland
No. 6 Winter Springs at No. 3 Gaither
Class 5A, Region 4
No. 8 Heritage at No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas
Class 4A, Region 2
No. 8 Deltona at No. 1 Jones
No. 5 Vanguard at No. 4 Auburndale
No. 7 Rockledge at No. 2 Zephyrhills
No. 6 New Smyrna Beach at No. 3 Lake Wales
Class 3A, Region 2
No. 8 Hernando at No. 1 Bishop Moore
No. 5 South Sumter at No. 4 Eastside
No. 7 Tavares at No. 2 Eau Gallie
No. 6 Titusville at No. 3 Merritt Island
Class 3A, Region 3
No. 8 Mulberry at No. 1 Booker
Class 2A, Region 2
No. 5 Berkley Prep at No. 4 The Villages Charter
No. 6 Newberry at No. 3 Cocoa
Class 1A, Region 1
No. 8 Trinity Catholic at No. 1 University Christian
Class 1A, Region 2
Region bracket delayed due to The First Academy injunction
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