A p r i l — J u n e , 20 1 6
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Br owa rd Co u n t y S u p e r v i s o r o f E l e c t i o n s
T H E V. O. T. E .
VO IC E OF T H E E LE C T I O N S
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Message from
Dr. Brenda C. Snipes
1
Honoring the Veterans
More Than 14,000 High
School Students Registered!
NPC Meeting
2
2016 Election Cycle
Update Your Voter Status!
3
Guide for the 2016 Election Cycle
Important Election Terminology
Registered Voters
4
Vote-By-Mail
No Return Postage is Required for
Vote-By-Mail Ballot
Do Not Forget to Sing Your Voter
Certificate
5
Early Voting Schedule for Primary
Election
6
Early Voting Schedule for General
and Municipal Elections
7
Primary Election
Election—
—August 30, 2016
General Election & Municipal Elections
Elections—
—November 8, 2016
Message from Brenda C. Snipes, Ed. D.
Dear Broward Voters:
Main Office
It’s election season! Each of Broward’s 1,117,388 voters will have the opportunity to
voice their choice on a variety of issues and candidates. It’s critically important for
everyone—the Greatest Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation-X, Generation-Y and
Millennials, to step forward and participate in one of the most fundamental processes
of a democratic society, VOTE!
This newsletter is designed to provide helpful voting information and to inform you
about some of our events over the past few months. Be sure to read about our video
“In Honor of a Vet” in which retired veterans from several branches of the military share
their ideas on the importance of voting. You will also review results of the High School
Voter Registration Drive, where more than 14,000 students from Broward public,
private and charter high schools registered to vote in this year’s High School Voter
Registration Drive. More than one hundred and fifty of the high school students then
served as election workers for the March 15 Presidential Preference Primary.
115 S. Andrews Ave, #102
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Voting Equipment Center
1501 N.W. 40th Avenue
Lauderhill, FL 33313
Monday—Friday
8:30 a.m.—5:00 p.m.
E. Pat Larkins
Over the past several months the SOE office has been heavily engaged in the
processing of registration forms, candidate and initiative petitions, as well as management of the voter rolls. Managing these processes in an efficient manner is critical to
ensuring that all voters’ records are updated for the Primary Election scheduled for
August 30, 2016. I want to remind voters that the Primary Election will contain a mix of
partisan and non-partisan races and initiatives. Therefore, to ensure that our voters are
eligible to vote for their party candidate of choice. A voter must be a registered member
of the candidate’s party, party changes can be made in writing up to twenty-nine days
before the traditional election date.
520 MLK Blvd.
Pompano Beach, FL 33060
Tuesday & Thursday
1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The ballot will also contain non-party-affiliated races such as for judicial and school
board candidates. Keep in mind that the August Primary will focus heavily on local
races as well as state and federal offices. Please review the newsletter carefully to gain
more information on the upcoming election cycle.
Phone: 954-357-7050
www.browardsoe.org
E-mail:
[email protected]
As we move closer to the election, all households will receive the sample ballot unless a
vote-by-mail ballot was requested. Each voter will also be issued a new voter information card. We encourage voters to avail themselves of additional information
sources by visiting our website, Facebook and Twitter pages.
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HONORING THE VETERANS
The Supervisor of
Elections’ Office produced
an educational video titled
“In Honor of a Veteran.”
This is a special program
Did you
know
that book
closing is
29 days
before
election
day?
Honor a Veteran Event
being implemented throughout the state of Florida.
Several veterans from the
Broward community were
invited to be part of a panel.
The video portrays our
veterans as role models
who trust that voting in
every election can make a
difference in our community
and country.
The video is used as an
instrument to deliver a
message of the importance of voting to students and other members
of the community.
The Supervisor of Elections
would like to thank every
one that participated in
this civic educational
effort.
For viewing of the video,
visit our website at
www.browardsoe.org
MORE THAN 14,000 HIGH SCHOOL
STUDENTS REGISTERED!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HIGH SCHOOL VOTER
REGISTRATION (HSVR) DRIVE WINNERS!
Dr. Brenda C. Snipes,
Supervisor of Elections
would like to congratulate
the winners of the High
School Voter Registration
Drive (HSVR).
The drive is an annual
effort between the
Broward County Supervisor
of Elections’ Office and the
cooperation and significant
support of the Broward
County Public Schools and
numerous private and
charter schools .
The registration drive took
place from January 19,
2016 through January 22,
2016. The schools with
the most registered
students were recognized
at their school’s annual
awards ceremony. They
received the coveted
championship trophy,
banners and certificates.
Winning Schools
Class 6A—Stoneman Douglas
Class 5A—West Broward
Class 4A—Pembroke Pines
Charter
Class 3A—Pompano Beach
Class 2A—Dave Thomas Edu.
Class 1A—Somerset Academy
2016 E ARLY VOTING ELECTORAL WORKERS
J.D. Camp leads Super Early Voting Team at
Tamarac Early Voting Site.
(1st L to R) Angela Moorer, Jean Heinrichs, Natalie
Strum, Alice Daniels, Mary Frazier, Pauline RoseBlake, Antoinise Charles. (2nd) Marta Burgos,
Glendora Clayton, Pauletta Scott, Sol Colon, Greer
Poujade, Cindy Mendez, Brilla Smith. (3rd) Yves
Innocent, Robert Valery, William Yarrow, Lorene Ford
Milton Carp, JD Camp, Harvey Pomeranz
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2016 ELECTION CYCLE
Primary Election
General Election & Municipal Elections
August 30, 2016
November 8, 2016
Book Closing Dates
Primary Election
General Election & Municipal Elections
August 1, 2016
October 11, 2016
Early Voting Dates & Times
Primary Election, August 30, 2016 (9 Days)
Saturday, August 20, 2016 to Sunday, August 28, 2016
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
General Election, November 8, 2016 (14 Days)
Monday, October 24, 2016 to Sunday, November 6, 2016
9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
U P D A T E Y O U R V O T E R S TA T U S !
√ Have you moved recently? √ Have you changed your name?
√ Would you like to change your party?
To check your voter status you may go to our website at: www.browardsoe.org and click
on My Status located on the main page. Enter all information required and click on
submit. You can also contact our office at 954-357-7050.
To know where you need to go to vote on election day, you may go to our website’s
main page and click on Where Do I Vote?, then you will be directed to Precinct Finder
to enter your information.
Notice to Voters:
We ask voters to make sure that their
voter information card reflects the
most up to date information. You
may contact the office of the Supervisor of Elections at 954-357-7050 to
request a replacement voter information card.
Voter Information Card
Voting
Tips...
Confirm
the
location of
your
polling
place
before
election day
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GUIDE FOR 2016 ELECTION CYCLE
The office of the
Supervisor of Elections
wants you to be ready for
the 2016 election cycle!
Follow us on Twitter!
@browardvotes
An informational and
printable brochure was put
together and it can be
found in our website:
www.browadsoe.org.
This election tool contains
information such as:
election dates, registration book closing dates,
Voter Information Brochure 2016
candidate qualifying dates,
how to become an election
worker, offices and municipalities running in 2016,
three ways to vote: early
voting, absentee ballot and
election day, acceptable
forms of ID.
I M P O R TA N T E L E C T I O N T E R M I N O L O G I E S
Did you
know
That
Florida is a
closed
primary
state?
General Election—is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are
chosen. A regularly scheduled local, state, or national election in which voters elect officeholders.
Primary Election—an election in which voters choose a candidate affiliated with a political
party to run against a candidate who is affiliated with another political party in a later,
general election. A primary may be either “open” - allowing any registered voter to vote for
a candidate to represent a political party, or “closed” - allowing only registered voters who
belong to a major political party to vote for a candidate from that party.
Municipal Elections—cities elect their local representatives by at-large elections, some by
district and some have both.
Redistricting— the U.S. Constitution requires states to periodically redraw electoral
districts to account for population shifts. It is the process of adjusting electoral district
boundaries, usually in response to census results. District boundaries determine which
voters can take part in electing a representative.
Universal Primary Election—allows all registered voters to vote in the primary when there is
no opposing party candidates on the November ballot.
Effective immediately there are three additional acceptable forms of identification for the purposes of voter registration and identification at the polls: Veteran Health
Identification Card, Florida concealed weapon or firearm
license, and an employee identification card issued by any
part of the federal, state, county, or municipal government.
REGISTERED VOTERS
AS OF
JUNE 1, 2016
Total: 1,117,388
Democrat:
564,639
Republican:
249,319
NPA:
285,829
Other:
17,601
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VOTE-BY-MAIL
What is vote-by-mail?
The vote-by-mail voting
refers to voting a ballot
received by mail, or pickedup by a voter. It is also for
a voter who is unable or
unwilling to go to the polls
during early voting or election day. A voter does not
need to be absent from
his/her county of residence, or have an excuse
in order to vote-by-mail
except on election day.
On October, 2015, the
vote-by-mail informational
piece was mailed to all
Broward voters. This is
another innovative election
ing the form attached to the
mailing piece, or visiting our
website at
www.browardsoe.org, or by
calling the vote-by-mail line
at 954-357-7055.
Vote-By-Mail Piece
tool that contains information relative to how to
request a vote-by-mail
ballot for any, or all, the
2016 elections by return-
Some of the law changes
and how it affects vote-bymail voting information is
also provided in the mailing
piece. Other information
available on the mailing
piece are: who can pick-up a
vote-by-mail ballot, how to
complete a vote-by-mail
ballot, how to correct a
missing signature on your
vote-by-mail ballot, how to
track your absentee ballot
request and returned ballot.
N O R E T U R N P O S TA G E I S R E Q U I R E D
VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT
On September 10, 2015, in
collaboration with the
Broward County Commission, the Broward County
Supervisor of Elections has
approved the inclusion of
pre-paid postage envelopes
with vote-by-mail ballots.
Broward County Supervisor
of Elections, Dr. Snipes said
that this program will benefit
all Broward voters by speeding up and simplifying the
return process.
FOR
The addition of pre-paid
postage will allow voters to
place their ballots in their
mailbox for postal pick-up at
their door. Voters may still
hand deliver their ballots to
the elections’ office.
DO NOT FORGET TO SIGN YOUR
VOTER CERTIFICATE
If you forgot to sign your voter certificate with the return ballot, you will still have the opportunity to correct the omission by completing a Signature Affidavit for vote-by-mail ballot and
returning it with a copy of your identification. The deadline to submit the affidavit to the
Supervisor of Elections’ office is no later than 5:00 p.m. on the day before the election.
Did you
know
That the
polls are
open from
7:00 a.m. to
7:00 p.m.
on election
day?
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