Back in October I wrote about how I was emailing the honcho at MIA who seemed to be responsible for kicking Boingo out of the airport (See And Another Thing (No Boingo Wifi at MIA).)
For the record, MDAD Deputy Director of Business Retention and Development Miguel Southwell never replied to my email.
LeBron James: “It’s an important time for everyone. It’s important for young people to understand how important it is to vote, to have that right. There was a time where [African-Americans] didn’t have the right to vote. There was a time that women, especially, didn’t have the right to vote. It’s your time. People should understand that and be responsible about it.”
Dwyane Wade: “It was very important for me to just have the ability to do it. It’s a privilege to be out there to vote. You want to make sure that you have some kid of voice or say, whether it’s one vote or not. If you can use any of your celebrity to bring people out, you do that.”
Chris Bosh: “People died for that, the right to vote. Doing our ancestors — our grandmothers and grandfathers — due diligence by going out and exercising our right as a citizen, it’s important. People come from other countries to participate, to vote, so their kids can do that. Anytime somebody is active politically and in the community, it’s always a good thing.”
via ESPN
This bodes ill for election day. Wait times as high as six hours, and most about four hours. From Election Wait Times at 1:09 pm today:
|
Location |
Wait Time |
Last Updated |
|
Aventura Government Center |
3:00 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
City of Miami – City Hall |
3:00 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
Coral Gables Library |
4:30 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
Coral Reef Library |
5:00 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
Elections Dept. (SOE Main Office) |
6:00 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
Florida City – City Hall |
5:00 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
John F Kennedy Library |
4:00 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
Kendall Branch Library |
4:30 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
Lemon City Library |
3:30 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
Miami Beach City Hall |
4:00 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
Miami Lakes Public Library |
3:00 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
Model City Library (Caleb Center) |
5:00 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
North Dade Regional Library |
5:00 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
North Miami Public Library |
4:30 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
North Shore Branch Library |
3:00 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
South Dade Regional Library |
5:00 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
Elections Dept. (Stephen P. Clark Center) |
4:00 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
West Kendall Regional Library |
4:30 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
West Dade Regional Library |
4:00 |
Nov 03 2012 |
|
West Flagler Branch Library |
4:00 |
Nov 03 2012 |
At Coral Gables library this morning, the line went 3/4 of the way around the very long block. I bet it’s longer now.
UPDATE: the 2:08 results below the fold. Note that now the longest wait time is ‘only’ five and a half hours … but the shortest wait time is up to three hours, and there’s precious little of that.
From a UM email:
Republican presidential nominee Governor Mitt Romney will visit the University of Miami?s Coral Gables campus on Wednesday, October 31 at 2 p.m. for a ‘Victory Rally’ in the BankUnited Center.
Senator Marco Rubio, Governor Jeb Bush, Congressman Connie Mack, and the Republican Team also will appear with Governor Romney.
The rally is free, but a ticket is required for entry. To RSVP and get your ticket, please visit www.mittromney.com/FL.
Doors to the BankUnited Center will open at 12 p.m. All attendees must go through airport-like security and should bring as few personal items as possible. Since it will take time to clear security, please plan on arriving early. Late arrivals will not be guaranteed entry.
Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to wear orange and green to the event to show their ‘Cane spirit. No large bags, purses exceeding 8.5″x 11″, backpacks, sharp objects, umbrellas, food or drinks, video cameras, or signs/banners will be allowed into the building. Cameras and cell phones are permitted.
Parking Due to the high volume of vehicular traffic and parking surrounding the BankUnited Center, employees and students are advised to walk to the venue from other points on campus. The Department of Parking and Transportation Services will provide additional information on street and lot closures.
Wait times at some South Florida polling stations exceed five hours this afternoon of the first day of early voting. IMHO this is somewhere on a continuum that runs from mismanagement to voter suppression.
You can see the Miami-Dade County Elections deptartment’s own estimates at this printout I made of the Miami-Dade County – Elections – Early Voting Wait Times page just before 4pm today.
Wait times are FIVE AND HALF HOURS at Coral Reef Library. And FIVE HOURS at North Dade Regional Library. Four other locations have wait times of three to five hours. Twelve more are one to three hours. Only two — West Flager Branch Library and Lemon City Library — are under one hour.
I was at the Coral Gables library this morning to return some library books, when the app was showing a two hour wait. The people at the front door of the library — who I would guess were still a good half hour at least from a polling machine — told me that they had been waiting two and half hours to get that far. The line went all the way around the corner and past the long side of the building. It was much too big for me to get a decent photo with my cell phone. The people working the polls told me the line started at 5:30am for the 7:00am opening.
By the time I got there, about mid-day, it was hot.
Indeed, someone collapsed while I was there and the paramedics had to be called out. I hope it wasn’t serious. Or deadly.
I blame Governor Scott and the GOP for cutting early voting days and hours and putting us through this. And I blame the GOP-controlled legislature for our absurdly long ballot.
Meanwhile, all you can do is be prepared: figure out how to vote before you get there so you don’t hold up the line. (I have a downballot cheat sheet if you want one.)
About a million people have already voted absentee in Florida, and the number is sure to grow. But if you are worried about your signature not being recognized then starting tomorrow you can vote early at any of a host of locations.
There are fewer days for early voting than there were four years ago. In 2008 there were 120 hours of early voting spread over 14 days. This year there are only eight (longer) days of early voting, adding up to 96 hours. Plus, the ballot is much longer, so wait time may be an issue. (Plan ahead! See my 2012 Voting Guide.)
How nice therefore to find this handy dandy tool online: Miami-Dade County – Elections – Early Voting Wait Times which promises some information about how long you may need to wait at the local early voting location.
Note that they do warn that “The wait times listed below are approximate and may vary based on time of arrival.” Plus, I see that even though voting doesn’t begin until tomorrow there’s already a five minute wait time listed for the North Dade Regional Library. Everywhere else currently shows zero.
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