Tuesday was National Voter Registration Day. Democrats marked the occasion at the state capital, where they said that while Florida is often considered a red state, they don’t believe that’s a true reflection of the population. They want more liberal thinkers—especially young people—to sign up to vote.
So, Democrats turned out around the state on Tuesday. In Tallahassee, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said the party’s goal is to reduce the GOP advantage in voter registration by 35 percent in 2024.
Alexis Dorman, president of the College Democrats at Florida State University, says she’s confident the party can do it.
“We can take back Florida. Our generation is the largest and most diverse group of potential voters,” she said. “We are the change. In my time as a college student in Florida, I have seen that young people are unafraid to show up, organize and speak up about what they believe in. Now’s the time to channel that and bring people into our movement.”
House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell says it will be an uphill battle, though. She points to laws passed by the state’s Republican super-majority that she says make it harder to vote.
“There’s Senate Bill 90, which was passed in 2021. This law requires voters to re-enroll and vote by mail every cycle and places new restrictions on poll workers,” she said. “A lot of folks – yes – people want to be participants, active, in our democracy, but why are we making it harder for them to vote?”
As of the end of July, more than 14 million voters were registered in Florida. 5.2 million as Republicans, and 4.7 million as Democrats. Most of the rest are NPA – No Party Affiliation.
