Even being stuck in space is not stopping these voters from sending in a ballot.
Hey guys! It’s Christie Zizo back with another Election Results newsletter.
Recommended Videos
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams left Earth for the International Space Station in June on board the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. Problems with the spacecraft, however, mean Wilmore and Williams will be on the space station much longer than expected — and well past Election Day.
But even astronauts can vote. NASA has a whole system to help them get an absentee ballot and send it in.
What does it take to vote from space? Check out my story to find out.
This brings me to my next point: what is stopping you from voting? What is stopping your family members from voting? What is stopping your friends and coworkers from voting?
Florida has nearly 2.5 million registered voters who are labeled “inactive.” This means they haven’t voted in two federal elections and did not respond to notices from their county supervisor of elections. All of this data is from the Florida Division of Elections voter rolls, which are available to the public.
Of those inactive voters, as of August 2024:
- 895,533 are Democrats
- 635,474 are Republicans
- 909,685 are no party affiliate voters
The good news is all you have to do to become an active voter again is update your voter registration OR vote.
Yesterday was National Voter Registration Day. Now is a good time to check your voter registration and make sure it’s accurate and your status is active. I explain how to do all of that HERE.
But seriously, why don’t people vote?
The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 7. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Go to the link I shared above to help them register.
But let’s take a look at why people are not voting.
The U.S. Census Bureau surveys Americans about their voter behavior every couple of years. For the 2020 election, the Census found that of the 12,810 American adults who reported not voting:
- 17.6% said they weren’t interested
- 14.5% said they did not like the candidates or campaign issues
- Another 14.5% responded “other reason”
- 13.1% said they were too busy or had a conflicting schedule
- 13% said they were sick or disabled
- 6.1% said they were out of town
- 4.9% said they had registration problems
- 4.3% were concerned about COVID-19
- 3.7% forgot to vote
- 2.6% said the polling place was inconvenient
- 2.4% said they had transportation problems
For the 2022 election, the Census found that 37,232 Americans did not vote. The top reason: 26.5% said they were too busy or had a conflicting schedule, and 17.6% said they were not interested.
The pundits and the candidates say this is the most important election of our time. And sure, they always say that, but there is certainly a lot at stake about who we are and what we stand for as a country.
So if this election is important to you, start talking to the people around you. Ask them if they’re voting. Ask them if they need help getting to the polls. Ask them if they need help researching their ballot. You can’t vote for them. You shouldn’t TELL them how to vote. But every vote matters. We had county elections this August during which you can count on ONE HAND the number of votes that separated candidates.
So start reaching out to your friends and family. If you need info, we have resources on ClickOrlando.com/Results2024 about registration, requesting a vote-by-mail ballot, candidate guides, and more. And we are adding new information all the time.
Important election dates
- Oct. 7: Deadline for new Florida voter registrations
- Oct. 24: Deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot
- Oct. 26: Early voting begins in most Florida counties (some counties will start early voting as soon as Oct. 21, like Orange County)
- Nov. 5: Election Day (vote-by-mail ballots must be in by 7 p.m. on Election Day)