Ashley Lopez

Credit WLRN
Ashley Lopez

Ashley Lopez is a reporter for WLRN-Miami Herald News. She also splits her time as a reporter/blogger for the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting and as a local print reporter for The Miami Herald. Previously, Lopez was a reporter/blogger for The Florida Independent — a nonprofit news blog that covered Florida politics and public policy. A native Miamian, Lopez graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a journalism degree. She also interned for Talking Points Memo and an NPR affiliate in Durham, North Carolina.

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Gay Rights
1:00 pm
Wed November 14, 2012

Florida Elects Two Openly Gay State Lawmakers For The First Time

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Two openly gay men won seats in the Florida House this election.

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.

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Health Care Law
12:32 pm
Wed November 14, 2012

Rick Scott Says He's Going To Work With Feds On Health Care

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Gov. Scott says he will implement the Affordable Care Act in Florida.

Gov. Rick Scott-- the man who spent his own money traveling the country in an effort to stop health care reform-- has announced he is actually going to work with the federal government to implement the health care reform law in Florida.

Since the 2010 health care law was passed, Florida officials and Scott have dragged their feet in implementing the health care law here. They have even turned away millions of dollars allocated through the law that would go to programs that help low-income women and children.

However, things have since changed.

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Ballot Measures
12:00 pm
Wed November 14, 2012

No One Knows Why Florida's Ballot Measures Failed

Credit Christine DiMattei /WLRN
There are a lot of theories about why this year's ballot measures didn't pass-- but they are just theories.

In this past election, only three of the 11 proposed changes to the Florida Constitution on this year's ballot actually passed.

The ballot measures covered issues like tax cuts, the Florida Supreme Court, abortion and public funding of religious groups.

There are a lot of theories as to why this happened: a historically long ballot might have fatigued people by the time they got to the ballot measures, the amendments themselves were lengthy and confusing, lines were too long and polling places were chaotic, etc.

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Cuban-American Vote
10:00 am
Wed November 14, 2012

Experts Don't Agree On Cuban American Vote

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The Cuban vote in this election has become a topic of debate among researchers.

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. 

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Health Care Reform Law
10:30 am
Tue November 13, 2012

Florida Officials May Be Getting Serious About Health Care Reform Law

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Gov. Rick Scott has to start implementing health care reform in Florida.

Last week, Floridians voted down Amendment 1 -- an amendment that basically added anti-health care reform language into our state Constitution. Specifically, the amendment would have made it illegal to implement the individual mandate portion of the Affordable Care Act in Florida.

However, many experts said that even if it did pass, Florida's Amendment 1 simply could not overrule a federal law, which was also upheld as constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Ballot Counting
10:00 am
Tue November 13, 2012

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

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Arizona Secretary of State, Ken Bennett, is also dealing with a problematic election this year.

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.

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Voting Rights
12:00 pm
Mon November 12, 2012

Supreme Court To Reconsider Minority Protection In Voting Rights Act

Credit Rick Stone
The U.S. Supreme Court announced it will take another look at a law protecting minority voting rights.

The Supreme Court says its going to review whether Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional. Section 5 requires that certain states and counties receive federal pre-clearance of laws that could potentially impact minority voting rights.

The Hill reports

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Cuban Politics
11:00 am
Mon November 12, 2012

Obama Got Record Share Votes From Miami Cubans

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Obama got the biggest share of the Cuban vote that any Democratic presidential candidate has ever received.

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,

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Veterans Day
10:00 am
Mon November 12, 2012

Voters Approve Veteran Tax Breaks In Time For Veterans Day

Credit Kate Gardiner /Flickr
Voters approved two separate ballot measures aimed at giving military families tax breaks.

Just before Veterans Day, the results of November's election provided some relief for veterans and their spouses in Florida.

Among the many measures up for vote on this year's long and complicated ballot, were two tax exemptions aimed at helping out military families. Those two measures were among three that actually passed last week. There were 11 ballot measures in total.

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Latino Vote
6:35 am
Thu November 8, 2012

Why The Latino Vote In Florida Went To Obama

Credit Jessica Meszaros

The Latino vote has been changing in the past few years in Florida, but it looks like it's mostly been shifting towards Democrats.

And looking at Tuesday night's results, that's particularly true.

For decades, Florida's Latino population has been its mostly Cuban-American residents in South Florida. As we all know, Cubans here lean Republican when they vote.

However, more Latinos of different nationalities are coming to Florida and are effectively shifting its voting trends.

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Ballot Counting
10:50 am
Wed November 7, 2012

Officials Blame Absentee Ballots For Miami Dade Vote Count Problems

Credit Jessica Meszarros
Officials point to long ballots as part of why the tallies are taking so long.

Miami Dade elections officials are blaming absentee ballots -- and particularly their length -- for the county's ballot count hold-up.

Christina White, a spokeswoman for the supervisor for Miami Dade, says that the sheer volume of absentee ballots are to blame for the fact that Miami-Dade still hasn't finished counting ballots.

"Approximately 20,000 absentee ballots are being tabulated right now," White says.

All of the county's 829 precincts closed around 1:30 a.m. last night -- but the counting isn't over. 

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Election 2012
8:37 am
Wed November 7, 2012

Ballot Measures and Big Race Results

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Bill Nelson won his third term.

 

Big things happened with some items on the top and bottom of your ballot last night. First, 8 of the 11 ballot measures failed this year.

Only three of these ballot measures passed:

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Live Blog: Election 2012
8:12 am
Wed November 7, 2012

From South Florida's Polls To The Election Results: Get The Latest Here

Credit Dan Grech
Poll workers had their jobs cut out for them on Election Day.

8:27 Ballot Measure and Big Races

Here are some things that happened at the top and bottom of the ballot last night.


First, 8 of the 11 ballot measures failed this year.

Only three of these ballot measures passed:

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Latino Vote
4:14 pm
Mon November 5, 2012

Expert Says Romney's Bad Latino Numbers Could Cost Him Swing States, Election

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Mitt Romney could lose this election because of the Latino vote, a pollster says.

Any expert will tell you that this election comes down to a few swing states, including Florida.

However, within those key swing states is the all-powerful Latino vote, and experts say that this voting population could very likely cost Mitt Romney the election.

The Hill reports,

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Voting
2:00 pm
Mon November 5, 2012

How Facebook Got People To The Polls On Sunday

Credit Ashley Lopez / WLRN
People in Doral wait in a long line to vote in an impromptu voting location Sunday.

It was a last minute announcement made by Miami Dade Elections Officials, but somehow hundreds of voters showed up to vote this Sunday.

According to voters lined up that day, they have Facebook to thank for finding out about that impromptu voting day.

Last year, state lawmakers cut down early voting days and controversially eliminated the Sunday before Election Day.

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Florida
10:30 am
Mon November 5, 2012

Florida As Described By The New Yorker

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Florida may be center stage for this year's election, but its also a largely complicated and interesting place to outsiders during non-election years.

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Breaking
12:08 pm
Sun November 4, 2012

You Can Still Vote on Sunday

Credit Ashley Lopez /WLRN
People stood in a five hour long line in West Dade Regional Library yesterday waiting to vote on the last day of early voting.

From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. today you can vote at the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections office.

Here is a press release from the Miami Dade Elections office,

In an effort to continue serving eager voters on the final Sunday before Election Day, the Elections Department is opening its doors to voters.

While state law does not permit Early Voting today, we are permitted to provide and accept absentee ballots.

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Foreclosure Crisis
5:06 pm
Fri November 2, 2012

(Some) Foreclosure Money Is On Its Way to Homeowners

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Florida is finally going to spend money it was given for foreclosure relief.

Florida-- including South Florida--could finally be getting the millions of dollars it won in a settlement with big banks over bad mortgages and foreclosures. 

In the past several months about $300 million dollars given to Florida has been locked up in a battle between Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and the state Legislature. Each party claims that they have the authority to decide how the money is spent.

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Reptile Day
2:27 pm
Fri November 2, 2012

Miami Science Museum Is Going To Teach You How To Eat Like A Lizard

Credit Ashley Lopez / WLRN
You can eat like a lizard if you go to Reptile Day at the Miami Science Museum.

Here's a break from the relentness news about this year's election.

For those of you not stuck in a long line on the last day of early voting on Saturday, you can distract yourself at the Miami Science Museum's Reptile Day.

Among the many activities they are putting together is a "live python animal presentation," a turtle race and an "eat like a reptile cooking demonstration."

Yes. You read right. There will be food served that is typically eaten by lizards.

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Absentee Ballots
11:00 am
Fri November 2, 2012

Palm Beach Sued Over Signature Issue on Absentee Ballots

Credit Morten Wulff/ Flickr
Palm Beach woman is suing her elections supervisor for not counting her absentee ballot.

Here at WLRN, we've gotten a report of at least one person was allowed to vote in South Florida because officials did not believe the signature on his ballot was indeed his.

A Broward election official said situations like this could be remedied by a voter simply updating their signature in person at the supervisor of elections office in the county they vote in.

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Partisan Politics
10:00 am
Fri November 2, 2012

Washington Post: Allen West and Alan Grayson Are 'Embodiment of Hyperpartisanship'

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Allen West and Alan Grayson could be facing each other as two of the most partisan politicians in the U.S. House.

Besides a contentious presidential election, Floridians are also voting on key congressional races this year. 

Among those races is former congressman Alan Grayson's possible return to the U.S. House, as well as Rep. Allen West's, R-Florida, re-election where he faces off newcomer Patrick Murphy.

Right now, Grayson is (very) well positioned to win his race. West has out-raised Murphy by millions of dollars and has an edge in the polls.

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Politics And Foul Play
11:00 am
Thu November 1, 2012

Scams And Shenanigans To Watch Out For When You Vote

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Voters need to be on the look out for political foul play as incidences of shenanigans is on the rise.

As you all head to the polls between now and next Tuesday, be vigilant for voting scams and general shenanigans.

The Associated Press reported yesterday that voters in Florida have been inundated with some foul play this election season.

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Hispanic Vote
10:00 am
Thu November 1, 2012

Cubans Are Closing Obama's Lead Among Hispanics In Florida

Credit Matt Ortega /Flickr
Obama's lead among Hispanics is strong everywhere-- except Florida.

Obama might have a sizeable lead among Hispanics nationwide-- but that doesn't seem to be the case in Florida.

Here, Obama's lead is razor thin. As Marc Caputo at The Miami Herald reports, that's because of Florida's Cuban population, which votes heavily Republican.

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Broward Mental Health
11:00 am
Wed October 31, 2012

The Politics Of Mental Health Services In Broward

Credit Florida Department of Children and Families / www.dcf.state.fl.us
A shareholder for Concordia gave $125, 000 to Gov. Rick Scott's political action committee while DCF considered Broward Behavioral's bid for a contract.

Dan Christensen of Browardbulldog.org reported last week on some of the interesting characters that were (sort of) part of a privatization deal between the Department of Children and Families and a company in Broward.

DCF put out a bid several months ago to privatize the management of mental health and substance abuse services in Broward County.

A non-profit group called Broward Behavioral Health Coalition eventually won the $45 million deal from DCF.

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Zombies
10:00 am
Wed October 31, 2012

VIDEO: Group Tells Floridians To Vote In Order To Avoid Zombie Apocalypse

Well, Happy Halloween everyone.

In the spirit of today's festivities, here is a video from Florida New Majority (they have an office here in Miami) that warns Floridians that the only way to avoid a "Romney Zombie Apocalypse" is to vote.

The group says:

In a state plagued by natural disasters, exploding pythons, and the strangest politics on the planet, Florida voters are bracing for the latest horror -- zombie apocalypse! 

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Printing Problems
2:00 pm
Tue October 30, 2012

More Ballot Problems in Palm Beach

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Palm Beach has another ballot printing error.

Palm Beach County has seen yet another printing problem during this election.

According to The Palm Beach Post, "Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher said Monday that she has been forced to send new absentee ballots to about 500 county residents because of a new printing error."

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Voting
11:56 am
Tue October 30, 2012

Election Day Polling Location In Broward Closes

Credit Eliza Brown/ Flickr
A voting location in Broward has closed for Election Day.

A fire in the First Church of God in Broward (1242 N. Andrews Ave, Fort Lauderdale) has closed that polling location for Election Day.

Everyone who is assigned to that location will now be voting at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School located at 800 NW 13 Street.

This is a temporary change, which means no one will be issued a voting card for that precinct. Every voter in that precinct should have received a letter notifying them of this change.

If you have any questions or concerns about this change, voters are encouraged to call 954-357-7050. 

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Voting
10:30 am
Tue October 30, 2012

Why Miami's Early Voting Lines Are So Long

Credit Ashley Lopez / WLRN
Voters waiting in a two hour line to vote in Miami Dade.

This weekend, thousands of early voters in Miami stood through some very long lines.

And it looks like the line hasn't let up.

On Monday afternoon, a workday, lines where still up to four hours in Miami Dade.

At North Dade Regional Library the wait was three-and-a-half hours. At Coral Reef and West Dade Regional Library it was about three hours, as well. However, the longest lines in the county were at North Dade Regional Library, where the wait time there was a grueling four hours. 

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Ballot Measures
3:38 pm
Mon October 29, 2012

A Guide To Miami-Dade's Charter Amendments

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Here is a breakdown of the 8 charter amendments in Miami Dade.

Besides the 11 proposed amendments to the state Constitution, Miami-Dade dwellers will also be deciding the fate of 8 proposed charter amendments.

 These charter amendments are significantly shorter than the state-level changes, but there are quite a few of them-- and like most ballot measures, they can be kind of confusing. However, here is our breakdown created with the help of The Florida League of Women Voters' 2012 Voting Guide

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Politics
5:35 pm
Fri October 26, 2012

What Your Options Are If You Don't Get Your Absentee Ballot

Credit Jeff Gitchel/Flickr
Don't worry if you don't get your absentee ballot-- you still have options.

There are reports flying around in Broward County that a lot of people are not getting their absentee ballots.

However, there is no reason to worry.

Broward County is not having any problems getting absentee ballots out-- there is just a lot people requesting ballots (more than usual) and the county is working to get those out.

Broward County is one of the biggest counties in the state-- so, even if just a small percentage of people haven't gotten their ballots, yet, it turns out to be a lot of people.

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