Madeleine Shirley, the Chair of the Voter Registration Committee for the DEC, has dedicated 10+ years to volunteering for various organizations throughout Florida to register voters and protect their right to cast a ballot. This year alone, she has spearheaded over 50 voter registration drives on behalf of the DEC, assisted with similar efforts by the Coral Gables Dems, and cheered on other groups like the Democratic Senior Caucus and the Miami Gardens Dems, equally committed to registering voters. The effort is particularly timely, since Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia purged the active voter rolls of more than 100,000 Democrats in May.
Shirley takes her role very much to heart. She recalled one particular day helping a middle-aged man living in the Claude Pepper Apartment Building in Downtown Miami register to vote for the first time. At the age of 17, he had lost his right to cast a ballot, and it took him 25+ years to win his rights back. “His sons would ask him why he didn't vote, and it just broke me up, because it's such a fundamental right,” she explained.
For those they meet who are already registered to vote, Shirley and her team of volunteers pivot to enrolling (or re-enrolling) them in Vote By Mail. Unfortunately, many Democrats don’t realize that their previous VBM request expired on December 31, 2024. As a result, only a small fraction of the Democrats now registered in Miami-Dade are enrolled in VBM. This affects voter turnout, since those who receive mail ballots are more likely to cast a vote. Turnout will be key to the outcomes of municipal races in Miami, Miami Beach, Homestead, and Hialeah this fall.
“[Voting] is really the only voice you have in the government to make a difference,” Shirley emphasized. “Considering some of the things that are going on around us right now, it's pretty critical that people actually get involved.”
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