Deerfield-News. com-Deerfield Beach, FL-Deerfield News has been advocating for years to move Deerfield Beach municipal elections to National Election Day. The reason is turnout: most voters show up or mail in ballots on National Election Day. Why do we want our city officials to be elected by a small fraction of voters?
HERE IS THE DEFINITION OF NATIONAL ELECTION DAY
With respect to federal elections, it is statutorily set by the U.S. government as “the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November” of even-numbered years (i.e., the Tuesday that occurs within November 2 to November 8).
For some Deerfield Beach residents, the issue is that voting for the referendum will extend all current officials’ terms by 20 months.
If the referendum changing elections from March to November wins, the voters have spoken. They have, in essence, voted to keep those officials for the extended period of time; what is more democratic than that? Many were bitching that the BSO contract issue should have been put to a referendum when it was not required.
So now this city has the chance to do the right thing and move elections to the day when the most voters will vote: National Election Day. We support this and hope you will too.
Below is a piece we wrote about why Deerfield Beach needs to move municipal elections from March to National Election Day!
LOOK AT THE MOST RECENT ELECTIONS AND THE TURNOUT
VOTING ON NATIONAL ELECTION DAY WILL INCREASE THE NUMBER OF VOTERS ELECTING OUR CITY OFFICIALS. THAT IS A GOOD THING!
Contest: Deerfield Beach, Mayor, VOTE FOR 1
| Candidate Name | Total Votes | Percentage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Todd Drosky, NONPARTISAN | 3,078 | 56.28% | |||
| Dan Herz, NONPARTISAN | 2,186 | 39.97% | |||
| Caryl Berner, NONPARTISAN | 83 | 1.52% | |||
| Timothy “Chaz” Stevens, NONPARTISAN | 122 | 2.23% |
Contest: Deerfield Beach, Commissioner, District 3, VOTE FOR 1
| Candidate Name | Total Votes | Percentage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Shanetzky, NONPARTISAN | 783 | 50.68% | |||
| Philip Edward Bradley, NONPARTISAN | 439 | 28.41% | |||
| Karen A. Shelly, NONPARTISAN | 323 | 20.91% |
Contest: Deerfield Beach, Commissioner, District 4, VOTE FOR 1
| Candidate Name | Total Votes | Percentage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Plaut, NONPARTISAN | 971 | 84.36% | |||
| WRITE-IN, NONPARTISAN | 180 | 15.64% |
ORIGINALLY POSTED MARCH 7,2021
Deerfield Beach Needs To Change City Elections To National Election Day: Look How Few Residents Voted In March Election
Deerfield-News. com-Deerfield Beach, FL-With city elections being held this Tuesday, March 9, we thought this post was appropriate for today.
Voting in March is voter suppression; both Democrats and Republicans in Deerfield Beach should hang their heads in shame. Why do we vote in March and not on Election Day for city officials?. Most Democrats will be quick to blame Republicans for wanting to make it as difficult as possible to vote by mail, especially after this past Election Day. The truth is, locally, both parties are to blame; voting in March is voter suppression. Voting in March is just stupid, and certainly, the turnout and numbers of voters prove that.
For Americans not to vote on National Election Day for local officials runs contrary to everything the term get out the vote means. That is a fact Deerfield Beach citizens need to change, and change it now. The numbers speak for themselves. We have elected city officials, including Mayor Ganz, who is now running unopposed with minimal voter turnout. Deerfield Beach citizens need to change this; voting for city officials belongs on the ballot in November, when the turnout is much, much higher. No city official should be elected with five or six hundred votes in a city of 80,000 people. Our elected officials control a budget of nearly 200 million dollars a year and make decisions that affect all of our lives. Certainly, city officials should want the highest number of voters voting in an election, not the lowest.
These were the election results from our last city election. Our city has grown by leaps and bounds; we are not getting enough voter turnout the way city elections are now held.
The vote for Deerfield Beach Mayor had roughly 6000 voters in total; for city commissioners, the number of voters was under 2000 per district. For a city of 79,000-plus, according to census.gov, we can do a lot better in voter turnout if we voted on the same day we vote for all other elected officials.
The following is from www.census.gov
Population-Deerfield Beach
Population estimates, July 1, 2016, (V2016) 79,764
Population estimates base, April 1, 2010, (V2016) 75,018
100% of Precincts Reporting
Votes Split
William Ganz 2,327 38%
Walter Kenneth Wayne 1,575 26%
Gwyndolen Clarke-Reed 1,131 18%
Benjamin Preston 977 16%
Deerfield Beach District 3
100% of Precincts Reporting (7/7)
Votes Split
Bernie Parness 552 41%
Richard Rosenzweig 521 39%
Caryl Berner 244 18%
Deerfield Beach District 4
100% of Precincts Reporting (5/5)
Votes Split
Todd Drosky 930 63%
Joseph Hines 385 26%
Robert Durham 142 9%
Infographic from Deerfield Beach Solutions-
