Election 2012

Obama's Florida Body-Double In D.C. For Inauguration

Christine DiMattei — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:30:00 +0000

Among the throngs of people gathered at the National Mall to watch today's inauguration ceremony is Boca Raton's "President Obama."

That would be Lynn University student Eric Gooden. Last fall, the 24-year-old senior served as a stand-in for the President during Lynn University's final preparations for the presidential debate in late October.

Republican Party Spokesman: ‘More Than One Way To Fix' Voting Problems

Gina Jordan — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:00:00 +0000

The elections supervisor in the state capital says the Legislature will have to make changes to avoid what happened during the last election.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have filed bills in Tallahassee to increase the number of early voting hours.

Proposals by the Democrats call for a return to 14 days of early voting.

How South Florida Will Remember 2012

Elaine Chen — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 17:00:00 +0000

We were once again in the center of the political universe, but perhaps for all the wrong reasons as the state that can't vote straight. It was also the year that the death of a black teen from Miami Gardens named Trayvon Martin made us reassess race relations, and the right to stand your ground.

2012: A Year Of Electile Dysfunction In Florida

Phil Latzman — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 18:46:58 +0000

In 2012, Florida remained the state that can't vote straight.

Miami-Dade Grand Jury Cites 'Gaping Holes' In Florida's Absentee Voting System

Rick Stone — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 19:31:37 +0000

"Gaping holes" in Florida's absentee voting process have undermined public faith in election outcomes, according to the Miami-Dade County grand jury in its concluding report. The grand jury also concluded those holes need to be plugged immediately.

At the top of the list of the grand jury's 23 urgent recommendations:

Tallying It Up: Election Problems, Citizens Insurance And Miami-Dade Prayer

Elaine Chen — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 17:00:00 +0000

On the Florida Roundup : Local leaders and scientists gather in Palm Beach county to discuss how sea-level rise is “sinking in” in South Florida. Citizens Insurance is awash with complaints about its "incentive plan" to have private insurers take over some of its policies. Will you be paying for it, hurricane or not?

South Florida Elections Officials Blamed For Election's Long Lines, Delayed Count

Rick Stone — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 15:30:00 +0000

State elections chief Ken Detzner told the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee on Tuesday that it was five "underperforming" counties that caused the delays in reporting the Florida vote count after the Nov. 6 election.

Chairman Jack Latvala (R-Clearwater) said he'll call for the elections supervisors from Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Lee counties to testify before his committee next month. "There's enough blame to go around," Latvala said.

How Climate Change Is Reshaping South Florida

Elaine Chen — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 19:00:00 +0000

On The Florida Roundup: Hurricane season has officially ended. South Florida was saved from any severe hurricanes, but we see the effects of climate change as beaches erode, roads crumble and flooding inundates parts of region.

Post-Election, Pre-Session In Tallahassee

Phil Latzman — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:52:26 +0000

Things are changing in Tallahassee, but how much?

Republicans have lost their supermajority control of the Florida Legislature after Democrats made modest gains in both chambers in this month's elections.

Broward GOP Chairman Bows Out

Ashley Lopez — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 20:01:30 +0000

Richard DeNapoli, the Chairman of the Broward Republican Party, has announced he will not run for a second term.

'47 Percent' Video Maker Worried More About Romney Ties To Asian Sweatshops

Rick Stone — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:30:00 +0000

Miami New Times scored an interview with Anne Onymous, the reputed maker of the 47 percent video that so catastrophically damaged the Mitt Romney presidential campaign.

http://youtu.be/MU9V6eOFO38

Republicans Seek Jeb Bush To Repair Breech With Hispanics In Florida And Elsewhere

Liz Halloran — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:16:03 +0000

Paging Jeb Bush.

Your party needs you.

In the aftermath of Tuesday's election losses, Republicans have been scrambling to formulate a fix for what went wrong.

A big part of that calculation involves repairing relations with Hispanics, the fast-growing electoral power base that rejected Republican Mitt Romney's "self deportation" immigration solution and voted for President Obama in numbers that exceeded 70 percent.

And they'll need help from influential Republicans like Bush.

What's Going On With Obamacare, Early Voting And The Miami Marlins

Elaine Chen — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 22:00:00 +0000

This week on The Florida Roundup: Have state GOP leaders taken the election as a cue to change course?

Election Expert Says Florida's Early Voting Law Kept Minorities From Voting

Ashley Lopez — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:30:00 +0000

Daniel Smith, a professor at the University of Florida and expert on election data, says that Florida's new voting law, which cut early voting days from 14 to 8 days, limited voter participation among minorities.

Smith had long warned legislators that last year's voting law would disproportionately affect minority voters, who use early voting significantly more than other groups.

He says that his warnings months ago were right.

Obama Won Because Of 'Gifts' To Groups, Romney Tells Donors

Dana Farrington — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 12:23:50 +0000

President Obama won because of "gifts" he gave to certain constituency groups, GOP nominee Mitt Romney said today on a conference call with campaign donors and fundraisers.

His remarks were first reported by The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, which listened in on the call.

The groups Romney mentioned, according to the papers

Florida Elects Two Openly Gay State Lawmakers For The First Time

Ashley Lopez — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 18:00:00 +0000

On Election Day this year, Florida went from having zero openly gay lawmakers in the state Legislature to two.

David Richardson won a seat in the Florida House representing Miami Beach and Joe Saunders won a seat representing a part of Orlando. Both men are openly gay.

Up until last week, Florida was the biggest state in the U.S. to have never elected an openly gay person to office in their state legislature.

Chuck Wolfe, president of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, says that Florida was actually part of a national trend.

Why Many Registered Voters In Miami-Dade Didn’t Vote

Jessica Meszaros — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:30:00 +0000

Florida voters waited almost a week to hear who won the presidential election in Florida. It wasn’t until Saturday, Nov. 10 that President Obama had been declared the winner.

According to the Florida Division of Elections, only 67 percent of registered voters in Miami-Dade County cast a ballot in this election. This includes people who waited in line at the polls, and people who voted via absentee ballot.

Statewide, this number hovers around 71 percent, which is the lowest turnout in the past three presidential elections.

Experts Don't Agree On Cuban American Vote

Ashley Lopez — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Following this year's close presidential election here in Florida, there were reports that Obama had won the Cuban vote, or at least he had gotten a record share of it.

However, some political researchers and professors here in South Florida don't agree that this election represented a historic shift for South Florida's Cuban-Americans -- a population that has historically voted in favor of the GOP.

Don't Feel Bad Florida, Arizona Is Still Counting Ballots

Ashley Lopez — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Florida may have been a laughingstock on the heels of this presidential election because of its continued inability to conduct an election without a flurry of snafus -- but it's important to note, folks, that we aren't the only state that took a long time to count ballots this year.

Found In A Warehouse, 963 Broward Ballots Leave Election Results Undisturbed

Rick Stone — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 14:30:00 +0000

Nine hundred sixty-three Broward County residents finally got their votes counted on Monday after their ballots were found forgotten in an elections office warehouse.

Noting to get excited about, Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes told the Sun-Sentinel. She said it's customary for elections workers to scour the offices and work areas for forgotten ballots after the election.

"It happens," she said. "I think we've done pretty good."

NEWSCAST: Surprise Box Of Uncounted Ballots Discovered In Broward

Sammy Mack — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 14:05:24 +0000

Broward County is still tallying up votes in two recounts from last week’s election.

In Dania Beach's close commission race, Chickie Brandimartie leads Mac McElyea by just 16 votes out of more than 4,000. In Hallandale Beach, it's even closer with Anthony Sanders leading Michele Lazarow by just 6 votes out of more than 7,000.

Postcards From America And Electile Dysfunction In South Florida

Daniel Rivero — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Us Floridians know what it's like to be in the political spotlight, and not in a positive way.

Nationwide we have become a laughingstock, with people from all over asking the obvious question: "Why can't you guys get your elections together?"

That, however, is a question easier asked than answered.

The Tumblr blog called Postcards From America, which popped up this last week, tries to tackle the question indirectly. Featuring photos and commentaries from across the country, as well as photos from right here in South Florida, one can see a portrait of the individuals who this election has affected. The mood of South Florida on and before election day is perfectly captured.

Count's Final, Obama Won, But Is It Over? Except For Jabs, Politics And Fixes...Maybe

Rick Stone — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:30:00 +0000

Tuesday's election in Florida lasted until Saturday when the state was finally called for President Barack Obama. That's how long it took to sort through the mountains of absentee and other non-standard ballots.

Obama Got Record Share Votes From Miami Cubans

Ashley Lopez — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000

President Obama may have not technically won the Cuban vote -- but he did manage to score the biggest share of this historically Republican vote that any Democratic presidential candidate has ever gotten.

The Miami Herald reports,

Skin Color And Amnesty Hopes Propelled Obama's Win, Says Departing GOP Chairman

Rick Stone — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 17:30:00 +0000

For Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Sid Dinerstein, the re-election of President Obama wasn't a sudden disaster as much as a last straw. All over Europe and in big parts of the United States, he saw socialism on the rise and voters as its willing hostages.

Dinerstein had been watching with increasing alarm.

'Let Mitt Be Mitt': But Who Was He?

Ari Shapiro — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 16:11:30 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_cGyPwt5UI

NEWSCAST: Broward Joins Miami-Dade With Final Vote Tally

WLRN-Miami Herald News — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 13:45:49 +0000

Broward has joined Miami Dade in wrapping up its final vote count.

NEWSCAST: Florida Finally Gets A Color

Kelley Mitchell — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 23:07:59 +0000

Miami-Dade Ballot Count Complete But Final Announcement Still A Day Away

Rick Stone — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:10:04 +0000

The absentee ballot count is over in Miami-Dade County but it will be still one more day before President Obama knows for sure if Florida wanted him re-elected.

What A Makeover For Miami-Dade Schools Will Look Like

Sarah Gonzalez and Laura Isensee — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Miami-Dade voters have approved a $1.2 billion bond referendum to improve public school infrastructure and access to technology.

Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho proposed the measure back in August.

Carvalho has said the bond would establish a "technology baseline" for Miami-Dade schools—so that all schools have at least a minimum number of computers, for example.