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Floridians still recovering from Hurricane Ian face polling place nightmares as early voting begins [1]
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Date: 2022-10-27
Like natural disasters themselves, none of these issues are new. Numerous studies exist concerning how areas affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 handled voting, from availability of polling places to how major catastrophes affect electorates in the long term. It is downright bizarre to me that this issue has been so persistent that a frequently cited paper from 1905 references how natural disasters and even terrorism can impact an election. In the decades since, few states have put systems in place allowing for voters to still vote, despite displacement. California may offer Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail ballots for that very reason but for states like mine, those solutions are piecemeal at best.
Florida has responded similarly this year in the wake of Ian, with Gov. Ron DeSantis extending early voting in hard-hit areas and setting up temporary polling places in some counties. It’s absolutely not enough, according to analysis shared by The Washington Post. The outlet called for funding to go toward polling places and providing more alternatives, instead of consolidating polling places due to time and financial crunches.
With DeSantis at the helm, it’s hard not to think this lack of interest in voting rights—which the Florida governor shares with many, many Republicans—is exactly the point in the wake of climate-worsened disasters consistently changing how communities approach voting. Politico anticipates the GOP coming out on top in Florida. And a recent report from Prism reveals that DeSantis’ emergency voting order includes three majority-Republican counties but excludes more diverse, Democratic counties similarly effected by Hurricane Ian.
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[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/10/27/2131750/-Floridians-still-recovering-from-Hurricane-Ian-face-polling-place-nightmares-as-early-voting-begins
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