October 25, 2020 — Hey Central FLORIDA! Early Voting sites are open TODAY! Hours in Orange County: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. and in Seminole County: 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. So after church (albeit online), go vote early. This not only makes you an informed voter (if you’ve studied your Sample Ballot for instance) but also a strategic voter in case anything happens on Election Day to prevent you from voting.

LISTEN, if you requested a mail-in ballot (or absentee ballot depending on how it’s labeled with your local elections office), have you received it? Don’t wait to complete it, sign it properly and TURN it in to your local Supervisor of Elections Office TODAY. You can drop it off during the same early voting hours.

Awareness of presidential elections is always heightened. This year is different in two major ways. First, this country is experiencing a deadly pandemic (COVID-19) and people are wanting to be safe when they vote. Second, the President of the United States has fumbled in his response and responsibility to protect us, American people. He continues to ignore the advice of his own medical experts. While he and his family and dozens of his staff members have been infected by the virus, he continues to trot across the country to campaign, with crowds of people standing in close proximity with no face masks.

The truth is the president has done a poor job overall in his first term in office. The country is more divided than ever and that should alarm every single American.

In case you haven’t heard or read in the news, the current administration, Republican governors and party leaders around the country are trying just about everything to stop people from voting safely and with confidence that their votes will be counted. What we’re seeing is voter suppression attempts, not widespread voter fraud, as the current president has said.

So today is the day to get in your car or call Uber or Lift to take you to vote early. This is how you voice your wishes on who want to represent YOU and what issues YOU approve of. In addition to selecting someone else to run the country (and I recommend the Biden/Harris ticket), you can also select a higher minimum wage for workers in this state. If Amendment 2 is approved, it would raise the minimum wage to $10 per hour and increase by $1 each year until it reaches $15 per hour in 2026. After that, increases will be based on annual rate of inflation.

So go vote today. Vote wisely and vote early.

This is your friendly voting reminder. Let’s go Florida! We’ve got work to do!

• Trish Martin, OCN Founder and Editor