Despite earlier claims by his campaign, Cornel West is not on the Florida presidential ballots that supervisors of elections are sending to overseas and military voters, giving Floridians dissatisfied with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris one less option to vote for president this year. The campaign blamed “administrative technicalities.”
Elections 2024
Mixing Self-Pity with Self-Applause, Sally Hunt Resigns For Real This Time; DeSantis Appointment Could Take Months
Flagler County School Board member Sally Hunt submitted a resignation letter by email early this afternoon, making good on a pledge that by November she’d be gone from the seat she’s occupied less than two years. Hobbling with self-inflicted wounds from one of the most turbulent school board tenures in recent memory, Hunt claimed her “early departure from the Board was not an intended or desired outcome.” Many of her actions in her months on the board, and her frequent absence from it, from school functions and from contact with constituents, suggested otherwise.
Palm Coast Council Seat Vacated by Heighter Draws 11 Applicants for Appointment Ahead of Today’s Interviews
Twelve candidates have applied in hopes of appointment to the Palm Coast City Council seat Cathy Heighter resigned last month, two of whom have previously been appointed to local elected boards–including one who served on the City Council–and two who served on government advisory boards. One applicant did not qualify because she does not live in District 4, so 11 applicants will be interviewed when the council convenes at 1 p.m. today.
2nd Lawsuit Filed Against State Meddling in Abortion Amendment
The ACLU of Florida and Southern Legal Counsel filed a joint lawsuit Thursday against the Agency for Health Care Administration, seeking an order for it to cease efforts on its agency website and other media to persuade voters to oppose Amendment 4.
Pennsylvania’s Mail-In Ballot System Problem
Mail-in voting in Pennsylvania will not begin on Sept. 16, 2024, as was previously slated. Due to ongoing court cases, the past is poised to repeat itself in the commonwealth in the upcoming presidential election. Legal battles over Pennsylvania’s election system drew national attention in 2020 as former President Donald Trump and his allies in the state leveraged quirks of the system to sow doubt about the results of the election. Trump is setting the stage to do the same in 2024.
Donald Trump’s ‘Weaves’ of Incoherence
We are truly blessed in the oratory department this political season with Donald J. Trump; we are perched on the Parnassus of campaign discourse. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. If Samuel Beckett were alive (which he isn’t) he would be in awe of some of Trump’s monologues with their startling juxtapositions and its Dadaist energy.
WTF Presents: Inside Project 2025: A Blueprint for America’s Future?
Work Together Flagler, an emerging grass-roots organization by women formed to discuss the issues confronting voters in 2024–also known by its acronym, WTF–is sponsoring “Inside Project 2025: A blueprint for America’s future?” a free presentation by Dr. Michael Butler, Kenan Distinguished Professor of History at Flagler College, at 6 p.m. Oct. 2 at the VFW Post 8696 at 47 Old Kings Road in Palm Coast.
Florida’s Write-In ‘Loophole’ Disenfranchised 2 Million Voters in August. Why Aren’t Lawmakers Fixing It?
Florida has just had party primaries in which an estimated 2 million eligible residents were barred from voting in some state and local races by an indefensible little gimmick commonly known as the “write-in loophole.” It’s a legal fiction both parties refuse to fix because, every now and then, it comes in handy for them.
Opponents of Abortion Rights Are Using Suppression Tricks and Disinformation to Derail Ballot Initiatives
In Florida, the state health agency launched a “Florida is Protecting Life” website earlier this month that says Florida’s abortion amendment “threatens women’s safety” and warns voters, “Don’t let the fearmongers lie to you.” The site makes several other unsubstantiated claims, including that the amendment would lead to unregulated and unsafe abortions.
Yet Another Problem with the Electoral College
The original brilliance of the Electoral College has become one of its prime weaknesses. Presidential candidates focus their rallies, advertisements and outreach efforts on the few states where campaigns could actually tip the balance. In 2020, 77% of all campaign ads ran in just six states that were home to only 21% of the nation’s population.