FLORIDA VOTER STORY: Direct Action Gets The Vote

Joseph Phelan with the Miami Workers Center shares his experience as a community vote defender:

A man with sun browned skin and rough hands walks out of the the polling place at de Hostos Community Center in Wynwood, smiling and a gathered crowd erupts into cheers. He had just voted, with a little help from community vote defenders.

(l-r) Ramos, Lassalle, Davalia, happy after a successfully protecting the vote

Just minutes earlier he had been locked out of the electoral process.

"We said 'hi' as he walked into the poll," explained Osvaldo Ramos, a Take Back the Vote canvasser. "Then a little while later he came back out."

"They wouldn't let him vote," chimed in Amelia Davilia, another TBV canvasser.

The man, Emilio Lassalle Jr., didn't have ID.

"I didn't know I needed ID. I'm Puerto Rican. I am my ID," Lassalle said later.

"We talked to him about his rights and told him he was entitled to cast a provisional ballot. So he went back in," said Ramos.

"This time when he came out he had tears on his cheeks. He was so frustrated and humiliated," added Davilia.

The canvassers jumped into action and called the TBV headquarters to report the problem. A team of thirty voter defenders piled into the "Party Truck," an old bread truck plastered with banners, pumping out funk and hip hop on a generator powered sound system.



"When we got here we parked the truck blasted the music, got out the bull horns and started chanting," said Tony Romano, organizing director with the Miami Workers Center. "it got the poll workers attention. They told us 'No ID, no vote.' But we know that is illegal so we kept on pushing, kept on drawing attention to the situation."

Eventually, Lassalle, escorted by a TBV vote defender, was allowed back into the poll to cast his provisional ballot.

"I lost my wallet. What was I supposed to do?" Lassalle asks nobody, and everybody. "If they didn't let me vote I would never have voted again. I was fed up with it."

After posing for a few pictures with the smiling Lassalle, the vote defenders piled into the "Party Truck", cranked up some James Brown, and rolled into the darkening night, ready to defend the right to vote.

Oh and check out this video featuring Darville Williams, an intern at the Miami Workers Center on how more work needs to be done after the elections:

FLORIDA: Update On The Ground From Florida Immigrant Coalition

Maria Rodriguez from the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC) provides us with an update on the ground in Miami, Florida:

So after intense get out the vote efforts for the last two weeks, today on Election Day, we anxiously wait as there is an early afternoon lull in the polls. Last night at the voter protection training we had someone that waited 7 hours to vote, in the rain! This morning waits were in the 3 hour range, but now we wonder if there’s anyone left to vote! We know it will pick up after work and are gearing up for the last push...

FLORIDA VOTER TURNOUT: Updates from the Miami Workers Center

Our friend Joseph Phelan from the Miami Workers Center -- and author of this great article "Why Vote Then?" -- sent us the following updates about what's going on down in Miami on Election Day ... and check out their videos about Election Day on their youtube channel!

Here in Miami things got off to a start with long lines but by mid morning the lines seemed to evaporate. There haven’t been any major reported problems for voters. The main thing we are seeing is a lack of education around state amendments. A lot of people are showing up to the polls ready to vote for the president but not at all informed on the entire ballot.

We have also had some problems with poll workers who are aggressively trying to keep us away from voters. We have every right to talk with voters, educate them about the actual ballot, and check in with them to see if they have any problems. But some poll deputies are not really interested in having us near the polls.

But in some good news, we organized poll workers at a couple of different precincts to hand out our flyers, which include voting rights/process and an invitation to our results party tonight.

This morning several voter defense teams left from the Miami Workers Center at 6:30. They headed out to check on 21 different polling sites to ensure they opened on time. There are no reports of big problems at the polls besides the long lines.

Below are some brief reflections from a couple of members:

Chris Rice, LIFFT Member
"This morning we went to several precincts to make sure they opened on time. There weren't any real problems yet. The lines are long. But people are ready. A lot of people said they would stay out regardless of weather. They were determined. I got real pumped up from seeing all those young people out there. It is great to see all those young folks. They all want to be a part of history by voting. We pushed the issue of vote no on 2." [Note: If Amendment 2 is approved by voters it will write into the Florida state constitution that no union will be recognized besides a marriage between a man and woman. This will severely limit rights for gay and straight couples by outlawing civil unions and domestic partnership]

Mia Dennis, LIFFT member, MWC Canvasser
Speaking about organizing at the polls -
"If you are an outspoken person it is going to be kind of hard. You should start it off letting people know about their rights. Let them know how to handle the ballot. Then after that you talk to them about continuing to build power after the election and inviting them to our party. You go from talking about voting and their rights and then about building community power. "

FLORIDA TURNOUT: "Take Back the Vote" Mobilizes Florida Voters: Video by Miami Workers Center

Check out this cool video by the "Take Back the Vote" campaign of the Miami Workers Center. Not only is this campaign mobilizing immigrants and communities of color to vote but they are also engaging these folks in a larger struggle for social and economic justice.

FLORIDA TURNOUT: Early Voting in Florida: Video By Miami Grassroots Groups

Check out this video produced by the Miami Herald documenting an early voting rally organized by the Florida Immigrant Coalition and Miami Workers Center, among other groups.




And here's an op-ed from the Miami Herald by Maria Rodriguez from the Florida Immigrant Coalition and Gihan Perera from Miami Workers Center.