Op-ed

From 2000 to 2020, Let’s Make Sure Our Voices are Heard and Our Votes Count

Op-ed by Stephanie Porta

Those who are old enough remember (though most try to forget) the circus of uncertainty and the escalation of anxiety that defined the 2000 General Election. As the Electoral College took shape and as the race tightened between George Bush versus Al Gore, it became agonizingly clear there was one state that would determine the next resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. That state was Florida.

This led to a precarious situation, not just for the United States, but for the world at large. All this drama hit a little closer to home for me, quite literally.

You see, as a student at American University in D.C but from Orlando, Florida, I lived just blocks from the Vice President’s house. My college neighborhood and city as well as my home state were saturated with international media, anxious for answers. The world yearned to make sense of how such a developed nation could yield such dubious results in a national election. It undermined the very foundation our country was founded upon.

And yet, in the maelstrom, I had no more insight than you.

It was my first absentee experience participating in the Presidential Election process. I had recently moved from Orlando to Washington D.C. full of excitement and optimism that youth often exudes. Young, ripe, and a believer in democracy, I wanted to be sure my voice was heard, so I submitted my absentee ballot to be tabulated by the state of Florida. I knew my vote was important, as every single committed voter knows.

Throughout this chaotic recount period, I was fortunate to have a guiding light, and his name was Julian Bond.

Professor Bond, as I called him, was more than one of American University’s most coveted Public Affairs professors.  He was one of America’s foremost civil rights leaders and voices for social activism, who fought tirelessly until his dying day to expand civil rights. He would not–and did not–rest until all Americans were given fair access to the ballot box. (And to think, 20 years later, we are still fighting the same uphill battle.)

And on the heels of a just and democratic conclusion to the quagmire, the Supreme Court’s decision to stop the recount changed the course of history. The election had been stolen.

Yet, instead of giving up, instead of throwing in my metaphorical towel, succumbing to the death of democracy, this loss of fair elections and the White House in 2000 ignited a fire in me.

This fire burns with ferocity 20 years later, internally strengthened by the inequality, racism, sexism, and forced silence, which still plagues our voting system.

As the co-founder and executive director of Organize Florida, we fight every day, every year and every hour to ensure my rights, neighbor’s rights, and the future rights of all are not purloined.

It’s been a battle. For example, in 2012, we led the effort to put Earned Sick Time on the ballot in Orange County, the first-ever citizens initiative in Orange County’s history–to pass earned sick time for all workers. However, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs (now School Board Chair) and most of the County Commission colluded with GOP and corporations to illegally prevent the initiative from being on the ballot.

This happened in a country founded upon democracy that empowers its citizenry through the vote. Ironic, isn’t it? Heck, only 100 years ago the 19th Amendment was passed, culminating a decades-long movement at both state and national levels.

But I come to the polls with an advantage that literally lies skin deep. I am white. History showcases how truly black-and-white racism has been: The 19th Amendment did not eliminate the state laws that operated to keep Black Americans from the polls via poll taxes and literacy tests. It was only in 1965 that The Voting Rights Act created a significant change in African Americans’  access throughout the South. And yet still in Florida, Black and brown communities suffer the most unfair access to the ballot. Whether it’s the right to vote for returning citizens, long lines at polling places, or signature mis-matches, communities of color are systematically disenfranchised.

I have never felt greater responsibility as a white woman to use my voice and establish change; we cannot take this election lightly. After all, it is the consequences of my race, and privilege that had created such a deeply ingrained sense of systemic racism for centuries, that elected Trump to begin with.

It is now the responsibility of my race to take the country back from tyranny.

I am still uncertain if my vote was counted twenty years ago, but you can be certain I will make sure it counts on November 3, 2020.  Please show up and stand with me.

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Ray Banlye Broward (BCR) Disid Evalyasyon Anviwònman an Nimewo ID Pwojè Finansye Konte Broward ak Konte Miami-Dade, Florid: 452240-1

Ray Banlye Broward (BCR) Disid
Evalyasyon Anviwònman an Nimewo ID Pwojè Finansye Konte Broward ak Konte Miami-Dade, FLORID: 452240-1

Evalyasyon Anviwònman Revizyon

Konte Broward ak Depatman Transpò Laflorid (FDOT) te devlope yon Evalyasyon Anviwònman (EA) jan Administrasyon Federal Transpò (FTA) mande pou sèvis tren banlye nan Konte Broward pou asire konfòmite ak Lwa sou Règleman
Nasyonal pou Anviwònman (NEPA). Evalyasyon Anviwonman pote sou miz an plas sèvis tren banlye sou koridò ferovyè (Kot Lès Florid) depi nan estasyon pasaje yo nan vil Aventura ale nan direksyon nò rive nan jiska vil Fort Lauderdale, yon distans 18.5 kilomèt. Nouvo estasyon pasaje yo pwopoze nan Vil Hollywood, nan Ayewopò Entènasyonal Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood, ak nan Sid Fort Lauderdale.

Objektif Evalyasyon Anviwonman a se analize efè aplikasyon pwojè a sou anviwònman fizik, imen ak natirèl. Sa a se yon avi ki anonse ke yon peryòd konsiltasyon piblik 30 jou ap kòmanse 19 jiyè 2024 epi fini 18 out 2024 pou yo ka rekiyi kòmantè sou Evalyasyon Anviwonman an. Tout kòmantè ou resevwa pandan peryòd kòmantè sa a, ak repons a kòmantè sa yo, pral enkòpore nan dokiman final desizyon NEPA a. Kòmantè yo ka soumèt nenpòt lè pandan peryòd kòmantè a nan youn nan
de fason:

 Pa imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org
 Pa lapòs US: Broward County Transit, Capital Planning and Project Development Attn: Broward Commuter Rail South, 1 North University Drive, Suite 3100A, Plantation, Florida 33324

Tout kòmantè ekri yo dwe resevwa anvan 4:30 P.M. dimanch 18 out 2024. Tout moun ki enterese envite pou fè kòmantè yo.

Tanpri note ke enfòmasyon pèsonèl moun ki soumèt kòmantè yo, si yo bay yo, yo ka pibliye nan dokiman anviwònman yo ki sikile piblikman. Yon manm piblik la ka chwazi eskli enfòmasyon pèsonèl yo nan kòmantè yo.

Yon kopi elektwonik Evalyasyon Anviwonman a disponib jiska 18 out 2024 sou sit entènèt pwojè a
(www.browardcommuterrailstudy.com) an tèks klè ak fòma pdf, ak nan fòma papye nan Syèj Sosyal Broward County Transit (1 North University Drive, Suite 3100A, Plantation, Florida 33324) pandan lè travay nòmal yo. Kopi papye yo disponib tou nan biwo FTA Rejyon 4 ki nan 230 Peachtree Street, NW. Suite 1400, Atlanta, GA 30303, United States.

Kopi enprime Pwojè Evalyasyon Anviwonman a ap disponib tou pou revize pandan lè ouvrab regilye yo nan lokal bibliyotèk piblik Konte Broward sa yo:

-100 S Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
-1 Park Avenue East, Dania Beach, FL 33004
-2600 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, FL 33020
-300 S Federal Highway, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009

Enfòmasyon pou Kontakte:
Phil Schwab, P.E., FDOT Responsab
Pwojè Depatman Transpò Florid
3400 West Commercial Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309
Telefòn: (954) 777-4524
Nimewo gratis nan (866) 336-8435, ekst. 4524 Imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org
Depatman Transpò Florid
3400 West Commercial Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309
Telefòn: (954) 777-4524
Nimewo gratis nan (866) 336-8435, ekst. 4524 Imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org

Jie Bian, BCT Responsab Pwojè
Broward County Transit
1 North University Drive
Suite 3100A Plantation, Florida 33324
Telefòn: (954) 357-8532
Imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org

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