It's election week in Alex Sink's special election in Pinellas — and the Miami Dems are doing their part to send her to Congress!

Check out photos from the phone bank after the jump and email Rachel at [email protected] for phone-banking instructions if you can help make calls today!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Contact: Rachel Johnson, 305.771.2167
Email: [email protected]

Time for Miami-Dade County to Take Action on Long Voting Wait Times

Tomorrow, the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners will meet to consider whether the county will re-draw its voting precinct lines in 2014, a process each Florida county typically follows after each census and one that has been put off in Miami-Dade for four years. Failure to re-precinct is viewed as one of the driving factors behind marathon voting wait times in 2012 — over seven hours in some precincts — which were some of the longest anywhere in the country and cast national media attention on voting problems in Miami-Dade.

"After his initial announcement, we pressured the Mayor to reconsider his earlier decision to delay re-precincting for yet another year," said Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chair Annette Taddeo-Goldstein. "Since then we have been very impressed by the county's willingness to re-evaluate whether that was the best course of action. We had a productive meeting with the elections office earlier this month, and we feel that county leadership is committed to taking necessary steps to reduce voting wait times in as many precincts as possible before the November election."

"We want to ensure that the county follows the standard set by the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration — that no voter should wait more than 30 minutes to cast his or her ballot," she added. "This is what we should strive for and nothing less."

A review of 2012 elections data conducted by the Miami-Dade Democratic Party found that in precincts where the last voter cast their ballot by 8 pm, turnout averaged 69%, whereas in precincts where the last voter voted after midnight turnout was only 60%. If voters in all precincts had been able to vote by 8 pm, nearly 26,000 more ballots would have been cast, our review shows. Click here for more facts and figures.

The meeting begins at 9:30 am in county commission chambers at Stephen P. Clark Government Center, 111 NW 1st Street, Miami 33128.

Full facts & figures after the flip.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Contact: Rachel Johnson, 305.771.2167
Email: [email protected]

Ana Rivas Logan Leaves GOP, Joins Democratic Party

Yesterday, former Republican State House representative and former schoolboard member Ana Rivas Logan left the GOP and officially registered as a Democrat.

"The Republican Party has lost it way," said Rivas Logan at a press conference outside the Miami-Dade elections office. "I'm so proud to be joining a party that welcomes all people and doesn't alienate women, minorities, and immigrants or attack people on the basis of sexual orientation." 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Monday, February 10, 2014
Contact: Rachel Johnson, 305.771.2167
Email: [email protected]

The Miami-Dade Dems are proud to announce that former State House representative, former schoolboard member, and civic leader Ana Rivas Logan has left the Republican party and is officially becoming a Democrat today, February 10.

WHO: Ana Rivas Logan will be filing her new registration with the Democratic Party

WHAT: A press conference will be held immediately afterward

WHEN: Monday February 10th, 2:30 pm

WHERE: Miami-Dade Elections Department (2700 NW 87th Avenue, Doral, Florida 33172)

BACKGROUND: Ana Rivas Logan abandona al Partido Republicano (El Nuevo Herald)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Monday, February 10, 2014
Contact: Rachel Johnson, 305.771.2167
Email: [email protected]

The Miami-Dade Dems are proud to announce that former State House representative, former schoolboard member, and civic leader Ana Rivas Logan has left the Republican party and is officially becoming a Democrat today, February 10.

WHO: Ana Rivas Logan will be filing her new registration with the Democratic Party

WHAT: A press conference will be held immediately afterward

WHEN: Monday February 10th, 2:30 pm

WHERE: Miami-Dade Elections Department (2700 NW 87th Avenue, Doral, Florida 33172)

BACKGROUND: Ana Rivas Logan abandona al Partido Republicano (El Nuevo Herald)

BREAKING: Mayor Carlos Gimenez just announced that Miami-Dade County plans to delay — again — long-overdue reprecincting that would more evenly distribute voters between precincts.

On election night in 2012, voters in some parts of Miami-Dade waited seven hours to vote — in large part because of uneven precincts. Many were still waiting to cast their ballots after midnight!

Tell Mayor Gimenez: We are done waiting. It's time to redraw the precinct lines in Miami-Dade and make sure ALL people in the county have equal opportunity to vote, no matter where they live!

Here's what you can do now to help:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2014
CONTACT: Mary Cowart
(305) 953-3086

State Representative Cynthia A. Stafford (D-109) and State Senator Dwight Bullard (D-39) Joint Statement On State of the Union Address delivered by U.S. President Barack Obama 

MIAMI — State Representative Cynthia A. Stafford (D-Miami) and State Senator Dwight Bullard (D-Miami) issued the following joint statement in response to last night’s State of the Union address delivered by President Obama as it relates to raising the minimum wage for American workers:

State Representative Cynthia A. Stafford (D-Miami) offered the following remarks:

“I commend President Barack Obama on issuing an executive order to finally raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour for workers on new federal contracts during his State of the Union speech. Raising the minimum wage will not only lower the unemployment rate, but will also provide economic security for American families. Florida, which represents a large number of unemployed citizens, should follow President Obama’s lead and raise the state minimum wage during the 2014 Regular Session. I am proud to serve as the House sponsor for House Bill 385 State Minimum Wage. If passed, House Bill 385 would raise the state minimum wage to $10.10 per hour and ensure economic security for hard working families in Florida."