As the minutes ticked away for the October 11 Florida voter registration deadline, the final paperwork was coming into the Leon County Supervisor of Elections Office. With about an hour before the office closed, volunteers with the Big Bend Voting Rights Project made the delivery of their voter registration forms in person. Project founder Bob Rackleff provided a final tally of the group's efforts.
"1,081 registrations since April!" he exclaimed as his colleagues cheered.
Among those volunteers was Bonnie Francis. Her target was unregistered voters in neighboring Gadsden County. She said the reception from those residents was generally positive.
"So when you bring the issues to the people and explain in layman's terms what's at stake, they listen," she said.
And now that the paperwork's turned in, Rackleff said the work of making sure those new voters actually vote can begin.
"We'll send everyone we registered a hand addressed postcard reminding them to vote and how to do it. And then we intend to visit everyone we registered in person at their home and get them motivated."
The general election is on November 8th, just under a month away.
