Category: NPV Florida Monthly Updates

Mainstreet Research of Florida Atlantic University released the results of a survey that found 57% of Florida voters think the President should be elected by popular vote as compared with 37% who favor the Electoral College, and 6% were unsure.

The 2024 general-election campaign for President was concentrated on just 7 closely divided states.  These 7 states have a little less than 20% of the U.S. population.  That is, 80% of Americans were mere spectators to the 2024 presidential election.

With the presidential election in less than 6 weeks, here are some little understood details about how the Electoral system works. By the way, it’s not a “college”. The answer is by The Electoral College. We all know that. But how does that really happen?

Floridians for National Popular Vote participated in the League of women Voters US Convention in Washington DC on July 27-30 where Celina Stewart was elected CEO.

Maine Passes the National Popular Vote

Joining 17 other jurisdictions, Maine’s legislators passed the National Popular Vote Compact in April 2024 with bi-partisan support.

Maine first introduced the NPV bill in 2006 when it was a completely new concept for “one person, one vote”. Persistence finally paid off.

Connecticut passed NPV in May 2018, Oregon in June 2019, Colorado in December 2020 Minnesota passed it in the spring of 2023.

When enough states that hold 270 Electors pass NPV, the law will elect the president by the total of the national vote in all 50 states. The goal is “Every Vote Equal”. No blue states, no red states, no battleground states.

The Harvard Kennedy School for Democratic Governance and Innovation on the Electoral College

Why it’s Important to Vote!

It’s 2024 and it’s all about the presidential election. Floridians for National Popular Vote wants to encourage everyone to get out and vote. We continue to advocate for one person, one vote. All elections matter. The bigger the turnout, the more faith we can have that the majority have spoken.

A large turnout means more votes down ballot and a better chance of all people being represented.

Here are some resources:

Why Vote
League of Women Voters Voting Guides Closer to the election, your local LWV will have details about your local candidates if they respond to the surveys sent.
Five Reasons You Should Vote
National Geographic, Why Voting is Important
An Orange County Women’s Club sponsored a 5th-grade writing contest about voting. One child got right down to the heart of the matter of voting: “If you’re young, you get one vote. If you’re old, you get one vote, if you’re rich, you get one vote; if you’re poor, you get one vote.”

Two Perspectives on Why States Pass the National Popular Vote

The National Popular Vote bill makes every vote equal regardless of geography, political leaning, or swing state status. Republican legislators in sixteen jurisdictions have supported passage in their respective states for they understand that NPV evens the playing field. With NPV in place, everyone’s vote, in all 50 states, contributes to the tabulation of the winner of the popular vote.

Consider the alternative: with state winner-take-all laws, for example, all of a Blue state’s electors are awarded to the winner in that state thus nullifying the votes of the people who voted Republican. In 2020, New Yorkers pulled the lever for Trump 2 million times and, in California, Trump amassed 6 million votes. Eight million voters in these two states were disenfranchised.

New York State Case Study

New York is a state commonly thought of as leaning Blue. Standing the myth that NPV is only supported by Democrats on its head, the National Popular Vote bill was introduced there in 2007 by Republicans. Final passage was in 2014, when 2/3 of each party supported the measure in both the Senate and Assembly.

The bill’s sponsor, New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (R) stated in 2006:

“To ensure the popular election of the President is (sic) a creative and innovative way to attain this goal. New York State, the Empire State should take a leadership role in energizing our democracy.”

What are the similarities between New York and Florida? When the bill was introduced in 2006, New York was the third-largest state in the country (Florida now is); Republicans dominated the NY Senate (as they currently do in Florida). A survey showed that 79% of New York voters supported the popular election of the president (Floridians support NPV by 68% as of 2017). New York had twenty-nine electoral votes (Florida has 30). The bill was introduced every year from 2007 to 2014 until it passed (Florida legislators have introduced the bill for the past 7 years).

California State Case Study

Why would the largest state in the Union, with fifty-five electors, want to count all votes equally?

Many partisan legislators believe that only Blue states will support the National Popular Vote movement because they think it appeals only to liberal voters. But, if that were true, why would those states that reliably vote Blue give voice to the millions of Republican voters in their states that are not currently counted? California’s fifty-five Electors reliably vote Blue, negating the 6 million Republicans (4 of 10 voters) who cast ballots for the GOP candidate. With the National Popular Vote bill in place, those Republican votes will count in the national total.

One answer by Assemblyman Jerry Hill, sponsor of the NPV bill, said, “For too long, presidential candidates have ignored California and our issues while pandering exclusively to the battleground states.”

As Florida continues to become more Red, its status as a swing state will diminish and all the campaign spending and events hosted here might go to Texas or Georgia as they become purple.

To schedule a Zoom or in-person meeting to learn more about NPV email, NPVFL1@gmail.com

Floridians for National Popular Vote

League |  District Chair |  Email Address

Brevard:  Space Coast, Sabrina Taylor, sabrinat993@gmail.com
Broward County, Denise Elliott, denise.lwvbc@gmail.com
Collier County, Suzanne Low, suzannelow12@gmail.com
Hillsborough County, Elaine Holmes & Shirley Arcuri, teholmes1@gmail.com, arcuri.sc@gmail.com
Lee County, Jan Lonsdale, lonsdajk@GMAIL.com
Leon County:  Tallahassee, Sabrina Hartley, sabrina.hartley878@yahoo.com
Manatee County, Alice Newlon, anewlon@yahoo.com
Martin County, Larry Pius, pius.lawrencej@gmail.com
North Pinellas County, Sarah Peacock, skpeacock08@gmail.com
Orange County, Anne Coppenhaver & Louise Thompson, ccoppenhaver@me.com, louisefelice356@gmail.com
Osceola County, Samid Sohl, sam@urbanave.co
Palm Beach County, Dan Lishansky, danlish@comcast.net
Pasco County, Christine Bright, bhemm72@gmail.com
Sarasota County, Deb Mazzaferro, npvfl1@gmail.com
Seminole County, Valerie Schultz, ind_well@bellsouth.net
St. Petersburg Area (Pinellas County), Marty Shapiro, mshapiro48@gmail.com
Upper Keys (Monroe County), Linda Kaplan, lk@lindakaplan.com
Villages/ Tri-County, Jeannie Hamilton & Helen Kelly,  jeannie@jeannierealtor.com, helenkelly2009@gmail.com

Swing States: Is Florida losing its position as a Crucial State?

In the 2020 presidential election, Florida didn’t matter. This is only the second time since 1976 that the winner of the presidential election wasn’t the winner in the Sunshine State.

View full article here

While 51.2% of Floridians voted for Donald Trump, if NPV was in effect, those voters could have been added to the national total to determine a winner. While it did not make a difference in this election, it might in the future as Republican strongholds like Georgia, Arizona and – Gasp! – even Texas become competitive.

Florida presidential elections are usually razor thin. While consistent advertising and messaging converted some voting blocs in Florida, imagine what could have been done nationally if the National Popular Vote bill were in effect to increase turnout if votes in reliably Red states had been targeted.

The National Popular Vote preserves the Electoral College, while counting every vote in every state, and does NOT require a constitutional amendment.

NPV is in the hands of State Legislators. Article 2. Section 1 of the US Constitution states:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress.

Florida Legislators owe it to themselves to pass the National Popular Vote before Florida’s voters become another reliably Red State that national presidential candidates take for granted and bypass on their campaigns.

To schedule a zoom or in-person meeting to learn more about NPV, email NPVFL1@gmail.com

Land doesn’t vote. States don’t vote. People vote!

Regardless of which end of the political spectrum you represent, the fact remains: To win, you must get the most votes in your district.

So why would we want the presidential election to be any different?

Let the candidates campaign to the entire country, speak to topics of national interest, present their platforms and policies……….and then, let the people vote.

Let’s do away with Red States vs Blue States, but, simply, The United States.

To schedule a zoom or in-person meeting to learn more about NPV,email NPVFL1@gmail.com

Floridians for National Popular Vote

League |  District Chair |  Email Address

Brevard:  Space Coast, Sabrina Taylor, sabrinat993@gmail.com
Broward County, Denise Elliott, denise.lwvbc@gmail.com
Collier County, Suzanne Low, suzannelow12@gmail.com
Hillsborough County, Elaine Holmes & Shirley Arcuri, teholmes1@gmail.com, arcuri.sc@gmail.com
Lee County, Jan Lonsdale, lonsdajk@GMAIL.com
Leon County:  Tallahassee, Sabrina Hartley, sabrina.hartley878@yahoo.com
Manatee County, Alice Newlon, anewlon@yahoo.com
Martin County, Larry Pius, pius.lawrencej@gmail.com
North Pinellas County, Sarah Peacock, skpeacock08@gmail.com
Orange County, Anne Coppenhaver & Louise Thompson, ccoppenhaver@me.com, louisefelice356@gmail.com
Osceola County, Samid Sohl, sam@urbanave.co
Palm Beach County, Dan Lishansky, danlish@comcast.net
Pasco County, Christine Bright, bhemm72@gmail.com
Sarasota County, Deb Mazzaferro, npvfl1@gmail.com
Seminole County, Valerie Schultz, ind_well@bellsouth.net
St. Petersburg Area (Pinellas County), Marty Shapiro, mshapiro48@gmail.com
Upper Keys (Monroe County), Linda Kaplan, lk@lindakaplan.com
Villages/ Tri-County, Jeannie Hamilton & Helen Kelly,  jeannie@jeannierealtor.com, helenkelly2009@gmail.com

Senator Torres has filed the National Popular vote Bill in the Florida Senate. It’s assigned SB236 and is exactly the same as HB67 filed by Representative Michael Gottlieb and co-sponsored by Representatives Harris, Hinson, Skidmore, Valdés.

Last week our state legislators convened for the first committee week in preparation for the 2024 Legislative session which starts January 9 and runs for 60 days. In even-numbered years, the session runs early due to November elections. Every House Representative runs for office every 2 years.