The governor’s order said the action was being taken “in an abundance of caution,” while the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory that “Eta could be near hurricane strength as it approaches Florida.”
Florida
Biden Wins
Joe Biden was elected the 46th president of the United States, with Kamala Harris the first-ever woman–the first Black, the first Indian-American–vice-president.
Flagler and Florida Democrats Face a Reckoning After Dismal Showing at Every Level
Trump’s Florida victory aside, Republicans upset two incumbent South Florida congresswomen, flipped five state House seats and could pick up a seat in the state Senate, making a mockery of Democrats’ hopes to cut into the GOP’s legislative dominance.
Flagler Falls 1% Short But Florida Voters Approve $15 Minimum Wage Phased in By End of 2026
The hike in the minimum wage will be phased in through Sept. 30, 2026, but it will represent a significant move in a state heavily dependent on tourism and the service industry for jobs. It was put on the ballot with the financial help of well-known Orando trial attorney John Morgan.
Trump Winning Florida With Three Times The 2016 Margin Explained in One Word: Hispanics
Trump defeated Biden in 55 of the state’s 67 counties, losing only one rural county — Gadsden, west of Tallahassee, unofficial results show. In all, he beat Biden by about 375,000 votes statewide, compared to a nearly 113,000-vote Florida margin over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Holland and Klufas Hold On, Staly Wins Re-Election, Don O’Brien and Andy Dance Win County Commission, Ed Danko, Victor Barbosa Win Council Seats
With all early voting results counted, Sheriff Rick Staly had an insurmountable lead to win re-election to his second term, as did County Commissioner Donald O’Brien. Andy Dance, the school board member, also had an insurmountable lead to win the County Commission seat Charlie Ericksen opted not to contest.
Electionland: The State of Election Day in Palm Coast and Flagler County
At the current rate, and with mail ballots still being dropped off, Flagler could end the day with 75,000 ballots cast out of 92,000 eligible voters, for a turnout of 81 percent–close to the records of the 2000 and 2004 elections.
Flagler Reaches 40 Covid-Related Deaths, Hospitalizations Up, Florida’s Daily Average Back Above 4,000
Covid hospitalizations were back up to 7 over the weekend at AdventHealth Palm Coast after bottoming out at 2, and Flagler’s coronavirus case load totaled 227 in the last two weeks, signaling more hospitalizations ahead.
Celebrities Spent Millions So Florida Felons Could Vote. Will It Make a Difference?
Nearly 13,000 Florida felons could now be eligible to vote after a Michael Bloomberg-backed push to pay their court fines and fees. But many still don’t know they can legally cast a ballot.
The Polls Aren’t Wrong. But Trump Can Still Win More Easily Than in 2016.
Biden’s lead in none of the key battleground states is outside the margin of error and national polling is only reflecting the concentration of Biden votes in already-blue states, and the migration of some Trump votes in still-red states. The polls have it right, but Trump’s road to re-election is actually less daunting than presumed.
Florida Supreme Court Will No Longer Review Death Sentences, Ending 50-Year Fail-Safe Step
The majority ruling was one of a series of opinions this year in which the Supreme Court, newly packed with right-wing judges, has reversed course on death-penalty and criminal legal precedents, opening the way to swifter and death sentences with fewer obstacles.
Election Supervisors Are Told Felons Must be Allowed to Cast Regular Ballots, Not Provisional
Attorney Ron Labasky sent an email to supervisors after lawyers for voting-rights advocates raised an alert about possible problems encountered by felons trying to cast ballots during the early voting period, which ends Sunday.
53,000 Flagler Voters Cast Ballots Without Incidents. A Handful of Local Republican Pols Have Behaved Less Well.
If voters have been model citizens so far, and they have, a very small handful of candidates or party operatives, particularly in the Republican Party, have been a little less so: their actions have required the interventions of poll deputies, of Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart and of sheriff’s deputies.
Ballots Cast in Flagler Near 90% of 2016 Total, But Turnout Record Still Distant Absent Massive Election Day Surge
As in Florida and the rest of the nation, Flagler County is seeing a surge of early voting and voting by mail in one of the most unusual–and unpredictable–election in memory. But Flagler would have to experience an even more unusually heavy turnout in the remaining days of the election, especially on Election Day, if the turnout records of the 2000s are to be broken.
The Race Deadlocked in Florida, Democrats Focus on Turning Out Black Voters
The efforts to boost turnout among Black voters — especially young Black men — come as recent polls show Biden and Trump deadlocked in Florida, a state with 29 electoral votes considered critical for a White House victory.
Teachers and Others Seek Rehearing in Court to Argue ‘Irreparable Harm’ of In-Person Schools
Attorneys for Florida’s teachers union and others point to the trial court’s factual findings, supported by clear evidence, establishing that the state had abused its powers in a way that was harmful to Floridians.” The motions pointed to continuing safety threats to teachers and other school employees.
Florida Fails to Attract Bidders for Canada Drug Import Program Trump and DeSantis Touted
No private firms bid on Florida’s $30 million contract to set up and operate a drug importation program. Bids were due at the end of September. The setback is likely to delay by at least several months Florida’s effort to become the first state to import drugs.
Biden Hopes Puerto Rican Support Along I-4 Corridor Outplays Trump’s Backing Among South Florida Hispanics
Democrat Joe Biden and his supporters are targeting Puerto Ricans along the Interstate 4 corridor in the effort to flip the state blue. Trump has solid backing from Cuban-American voters, especially in Miami-Dade County, who for decades have been a reliable source of support for Republican candidates running statewide.
Covid Cases Rising Again in Flagler and Florida, Pointing to ‘Third Wave’; DeSantis Relaxes Nursing Home Visits
Four weeks after the governor lifted all restrictions on restaurants and other businesses, Covid-19 cases are again rising in Flagler County and Florida, mirroring on a smaller scale a surge cascading across the country and sparing few states as officials speak of a third wave of the pandemic on the cusp of the holiday season.
Emails Threatening Democrats to Vote Trump in Flagler County and Elsewhere Originated With Iran
The emails that several Flagler County Democrats, hundreds of Floridians and others across the country received today, threatening recipients to vote for Donald Trump or else, were the work of Iran, according to a federal investigation.
Coronavirus Displaces Obamacare as a Driving Issue For Florida Voters
Republican and Democratic strategists say the election in Florida isn’t about broad policy issues like health care, the environment, gun control or immigration. Instead it’s about fighting the coronavirus, which means different things for different Florida voters based on their political affiliations, ages and livelihoods.
GOP Voter Registrations Cutting Into Democrats’ Statewide Lead, and Reach Historic Lead in Flagler
Republicans’ proportion of registered voters in Flagler County has grown to 45.7 percent this year, compared to 39.8 percent in 2016, while Democrats’ proportion has shrunk to 30.5 percent, from 31.8 percent four years ago.
DeSantis Wants Ballot Drop Boxes Staffed. Elections Supervisors’ Attorney Says That’s Not the Law.
With supervisors encouraging Floridians to vote by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of mail-in ballots has exploded. Due to uncertainty about the U.S. postal system, many voters are choosing to drop off their ballots rather than risk having them delivered too late to count. Florida mail-in ballots must be received by 7 p.m. Election Day to be counted.
Unemployment Ticks Down to 6.2% in Flagler and Up to 7.6% in Florida as Recovery Slows
Flagler County’s labor force had been setting records and moving toward the 50,000 mark just before covid struck. It is now at 45,902, down from 47,459 a year ago. There are 2,700 fewer unemployed persons in the county today than there were a year ago.
Covid Death Rate in Florida’s Nursing Homes Exceeded the National Average in Last 4 Weeks, Infections Are Double
The rate of infected nursing-home residents in Florida was 4.5 percent, compared to 2.6 percent nationally. Moreover, the rate of infected staff members in Florida nursing homes was 3.9 per 100 residents, exceeding the national average of 2.5 per 100 residents.
Amendment 2, Raising Minimum Wage $1 a Year Until 2026, Would Lift Pay for 2.5 Million Workers
While the opposing camps on Amendment 2 offer those dramatically different pictures about what will happen if the minimum-wage measure passes, political experts anticipate that the outcome of the vote on the proposed amendment — one of six on the Nov. 3 ballot — will be close.
Flagler Elections Supervisor Lenhart Issues Sharp, ‘Zero-Tolerance’ Warning Against Voter Intimidation
Responding to concerns about voter intimidation days from early voting in Flagler, both Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart and Sheriff Rick Staly are sending strong messages to would-be disrupters at polling places, and preparing for polling days with 39 poll deputies–civilians sworn in just for the election period.
With 33rd and 34th Deaths, More Flagler Residents Have Died of Covid in 7 Months Than in Car Crashes in Any Year
The number of confirmed covid deaths so far means that the disease is the eighth leading cause of death in Flagler County, ahead of suicide and Parkinson’s, and about even with deaths from Alzheimer’s. At the current rate, covid is on pace to become the sixth leading cause of death this year, ahead of diabetes.
FHP Trooper Faces Hostile Discrimination Over Time Away on Military Service. Court Rules He Can’t Sue.
An Appeals court ruled that sovereign immunity protects state agencies like the Florida Highway Patrol from the lawsuit filed in 2014 by James Hightower, who alleged he faced a “hostile work environment” at the highway patrol because of leave he took for military duties.
Rebuffing Teachers Union, Appeals Court Sides With State in Reopening of Florida Schools
Saying that “nothing in the emergency order requires any teacher or any student to return to the classroom,” a state appeals court Friday overturned a ruling that said Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran violated the Florida Constitution when he issued a July order aimed at reopening schools amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Judge Refuses to Extend Florida’s Voter-Registration Deadline Even as He Calls System Broken
Saying “this court cannot remedy what the state broke,” a federal judge on Friday reluctantly refused to give Floridians more time to register to vote after a state online system crashed in the hours before Monday’s deadline to sign up for the November presidential election.
Florida Jobless Claims Up Again to Highest Number in 4 Weeks Despite Lifted Restrictions as Layoffs Pile Up
First-time unemployment claims jumped last week to 40,200 in Florida, up from 32,400 the previous week, as a growing number of major entertainment and travel-related businesses, including Disney and Universal cut hours and lay off employees.
Federal Judge Weighs Extending Florida’s Voter-Registration Deadline After State System Crashes
A federal judge has fast-tracked a lawsuit seeking to extend the period of time for Floridians to register to vote in the November presidential election, after the state’s online system repeatedly crashed in the hours leading up to a registration deadline Monday.
State Extended Deadline After Online Registration System Crashed, But Voting-Rights Groups Say 1 Day Isn’t Enough
A meltdown of Florida’s online voter-registration system hours before Monday’s deadline to sign up to vote in the November election prompted Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to extend the deadline until 7 p.m. Tuesday, but voting-rights groups quickly filed a lawsuit alleging the state’s action didn’t go far enough.
As Disney Lays Off 6,700 Due to Low Attendance, DeSantis Congratulates Himself on Reopening
In mid-September, Universal Orlando extended furloughs of 5,398 workers at least six more months and SeaWorld of Florida announced it would lay off 1,896 of its previously furloughed workers.
Despite $749 million Profit in Last Quarter, FPL Says No to Giving Covid-Strapped Customers a Break on Disconnections
Florida Power & Light, Gulf Power, Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric Co. filed documents at the state Public Service Commission pushing back against a proposed emergency rule change that would halt disconnections for customers who can’t pay their bills.
Why Are Republicans Listed First on Election Ballots? Democrats Want Full Federal Court to Hear Challenge.
The petition was the latest move in a legal battle about a state law, initially passed in 1951, that requires candidates who are in the same party as the governor to appear first on the ballot. The law was passed during a time of Democratic dominance of Florida politics.
Despite Amendment, Only a Fraction of 1 Million Disenfranchised Floridian Felons Will Have the Right to Vote
Supporters of the amendment blame the dearth of felons’ registering to vote on the coronavirus pandemic, uncertainty about voting eligibility and a series of contradictory court decisions culminating in a Sept. 11 ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a 2019 law restricting registrations to those who have paid off fines.
DeSantis Lifts All Restrictions on Restaurants and Businesses and Prohibits Local Constraints
DeSantis is decoupling for good the connection between science and public health on one hand and the economy on the other, opting exclusively for a focus on business measures in hopes of spurring consumer confidence. That confidence, however, continues to lag as individuals’ apprehensions continue to drive behavior.
Bloomberg Seeks to Pay Felons’ Outstanding Fines So They Can Vote. DeSantis Wants Him Investigated.
Attorney General Moody at the request of DeSantis asked the FBI and FDLE to investigate Bloomberg raising at least $16 million for the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, contending it could be a violation of state laws against offering incentives to people or groups in exchange for voting in a particular manner.
DeSantis Election-Keyed Proposal to Criminalize Certain Acts at Protests Sparks Partisan Furor
The proposal comes as Republicans double down on efforts to deliver a second presidential victory to Trump in Florida, a battleground state with 29 prized electoral votes, on Nov. 3.
DeSantis Calls for Criminalizing Numerous Acts By Protesters While Protecting Those Who Hurt Them
DeSantis, a staunch supporter of Trump, calls for new felony crimes when property is damaged or when people are injured as a result of protests while drivers would not be liable for injuries or deaths “caused if fleeing for safety from a mob.”
Unemployment Falls to 6.7% in Flagler and 7.4% in Florida; Government Jobs Account for a Fifth of Gain
The number of people with jobs in Flagler increased to 43,000, up 2,200 from the previous month, but still more than 4,000 workers short of where the labor force stood a year ago, suggesting that thousands remain on the sidelines.
Jobless Claims Are Down Across Florida, But Companies Are Imposing Large-Scale Layoffs
Florida is expected to end its participation in the federal Lost Wages Assistance program, which provides $300-a-week in benefits on top of state benefits. Nothing else has been lined up to replace it.
State Claims Inspectors Won’t Go Easy On Bars and Breweries That Violate Covid Rules
The state on Monday began allowing bars and breweries to again serve alcohol for on-site consumption, after a similar attempt ended in June because of a lack of compliance with safety rules.
Appeals Court Hears Challenge to Schools Using Non-Cops as Armed Security on Campuses
A controversial state program that allows school “guardians” to carry guns on campus came under scrutiny Tuesday, as an appeals court heard arguments in a legal challenge to Duval County’s “school safety assistants.”
After Briefly Defying Judicial Order, DeSantis Names Orange County’s Jamie Grosshans to Supreme Court
Jamie Grosshans was appointed to the 5th District Court of Appeals in 2018 by then-Gov. Rick Scott after serving as an Orange County judge, will be the only woman on the seven-member Supreme Court.
Unanimous Supreme Court Says DeSantis Violated ‘Constitution’s Clear Commands’ and Rejects His Pick
In a rebuke to Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida Supreme Court on Friday unanimously rejected his selection of a circuit judge to serve on the Supreme Court and gave the governor until noon Monday to appoint another candidate from a list of nominees offered early this year.
Federal Court’s 6-4 Ruling Deals Heavy Blow to Felon-Voting Rights, Upholding Florida Restrictions
A divided federal appeals court on Friday upheld the constitutionality of a Florida law requiring felons to complete all financial terms of their sentences — including paying fines, fees, costs and restitution — to be eligible to vote.
Bars May Reopen Monday at 50% Capacity Indoors, Full Capacity Outdoors
Bars and craft breweries were among the businesses ordered to go dark in March by DeSantis in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness known as Covid-19.