Faith in Florida is registering new voters Tuesday in Eatonville to get ahead of a new elections law that requires residents to register to vote by mail more frequently.
Eatonville is the oldest Black town in Florida and the home of author Zora Neale Hurston, who wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Faith in Florida’s Dr. LaVon Bracy says it was an easy choice for this week’s voter registration drive as she calls the town a beacon of independence and hope for Black Southerners.
Bracy is encouraging everyone who is eligible to either register to vote or make sure that their request to vote-by-mail is up-to-date.
“A lot has happened in the state of Florida since persons have last voted. We need to let them know the changes that have been made," said Bracy. "We need to get a commitment from them, that they are going to make their voices be heard."
Under new Florida law SB 90, all standing requests to vote by mail were expunged earlier this year, and voters must request a vote-by-mail ballot every two years, instead of every four.
Bracy said it’s crucial that everyone who can, vote and make their voices heard.
“There are five million persons who are eligible but are not registered. So there are a lot of Floridians who are on the sidelines. We are talking letting your voice be heard by making sure that you are part of the Floridians who are making the choices for people today.”
National Voter Registration Day is happening all across the country on September 19. To find your nearest voter registration event, click here. Register to vote onlinehere. Register to vote online in Florida here.
Under Florida law you must check the following boxes in order to register to vote:
- Be a citizen of the United States of America;
- Be a legal resident of Florida;
- Be a legal resident of the county in which you seek to be registered;
- Be at least 16 years old to preregister or at least 18 years old to register and vote;
- Not be a person who has been adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect to voting in Florida or any other state without having the right to vote restored; and
- Not be a person convicted of a felony without having your right to vote restored
