Studer Community Institute

Shannon's Window: Hitting the Election Day jackpot

November 3, 2014
/ Shannon Nickinson
/ government

I’ve done my duty. Now it’s time to do yours. On Friday, I voted early, no lines, no waiting. Just me and the nice folks at the Supervisor of Elections Office, and a couple of other early voters on a lovely October afternoon. If you haven’t already voted, you’ll have to wait until Tuesday, the day when some of my curmudgeonly officemates believe all voting should be done. So what are parting thoughts on this 2014 election season?

We ask a lot of our state constitution — and not enough of our state legislators.

The Florida Constitution has been asked to protect everything from pregnant pigs to classroom size. We’ve even had an amendment that governs the language for amendments. This time around you’ll be asked to set aside some of the fees generated by land transactions for conservation projects; to legalize pot for medicinal purposes; and to let an outgoing governor pick justices to the state Supreme Court. Why? Because we let Florida lawmakers off the hook. On Amendment 1, for example, you are being asked to specifically set aside a portion of fees already collected for conservation for the next 20 years because lawmakers, and Gov. Rick Scott raided those funds for other things. On Amendment 3, you are being asked to let a sitting governor “prospectively” fill a judicial seat before the seat is technically vacant. As things are now, those seats come open at the end of the year — the same time as when the governor’s office becomes vacant. This is a measure that effectively allows a sitting governor who may be a lame duck in office to fill judicial openings before he leaves office. You are being asked to do these things because the folks in Tallahassee cannot conduct themselves like big boys and girls. Too often in Florida when lawmakers cannot work things out, the default position is to put it to a ballot initiative and “let the voters decide.” The voters did decide — they elected you to govern on their behalf so they don’t have to micromanage the student-teacher ratio or the size of a pregnant pig’s cage.

We can use our pennies for progress.

Escambia voters have two sales tax measures to renew. Santa Rosa voters are being asked to put one in place for five years. No one likes taxes. This country was founded by people complaining about taxes. But taxes are the price we pay to have things like new roads, drainage projects, new schools and modern, adequate courthouses. There are roads I will never drive, school buildings my children may never use, recreation facilities I may never step foot in, but I recognize the need for these things to exist in all communities — not just my neighborhood.

Participate — or lose your right to complain about the results.

I know that the tone and tenor of some political advertising makes you wish you could vote for none of the above in some races. I realize that the existing political machinery rewards people who prove they are good at raising money — even when they face opposition that hasn’t a prayer of winning. I even accept that something somewhere in Florida will go so wrong on Election Day that “The Daily Show” will have all the material it needs to mock us once again as a state that raises election dysfunction to an art form. We had an entire gubernatorial debate derailed because of fan placement. But don’t let that keep you home on Tuesday. You may sometimes feel like things would turn out better if you voted the way you play the lottery — with a Quick Pick ticket from Publix. American democracy works when you, the citizen, do your part. That is as true now as it was back then. The polls are open on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. I’ve already voted. Now it’s your turn. [caption id="attachment_8577" align="aligncenter" width="850"]

Voter turnout is lower in non-Presidential election years. This graphic looks at who in the Pensacola area turned out for the gubernatorial election in 2010.[/caption]

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Shannon's Window: Hitting the Election Day jackpot

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