#Florida state government

[reportwire]

Is DeSantis darkening Florida's sunny open-records laws?

Florida has long been known for sunshine — not only the warm rays that brighten its beaches but also the light of public scrutiny afforded by some of the nation’s strongest meetings and records laws. Although years of rollbacks have gradually clouded the impact, advocates are ringing alarms that this year presents the greatest threat to transparency yet in the state that coined the name “Sunshine…

[clonerightsagenda]

Missouri politics is always a caricature but as we roll up to election day two particular standouts are:

There is a ballot measure to raise the number of allowed casinos so corporations can build one at the Lake of the Ozarks. ~*Coincidentally*~ the Osage nation (former residents of the area) have been trying to build a casino there. This is not something most people are aware but jfc it's blatant.

Our attorney general tried to sue about abortion pills, got tossed out for having absolutely no standing, and so tried again claiming that the state has standing due to lost federal funding caused by fewer teen pregnancies. I am not making this shit up.

[a-feller]

looks up project 2025 fucking now.

I cannot stress this enough. If you care about the rights of anyone who is not a cishet christian white republican in the US look it up right now. Share it with anyone you can. It's the republican's plans for the new nuremburg laws. not trials. Laws. They will turn the US into a dictatorship.

Once you have you'd better decide wether to run or fight if they succeed because oh boy are you gonna have to.

edit: do the reblogs or whatever, just spread. the word.

[thosemotivationalquotes]

🚨Important! If you live in one of the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Tennessee, & Texas. Tomorrow (10/7/2024) is the last day you can register to vote online/in general! 🚨

Arizona - today is your last chance to register! You can register online, or by mail or in person.

Arkansas - this state doesn’t have an online option, BUT you can still register by mail or in person today

Florida - today is your last chance to register! You can register online, or by mail or in person.

Georgia - today is your last chance to register! You can register online, or by mail or in person.

Indiana - today is your last chance to register! You can register online, or by mail or in person.

Kentucky - today is your last chance to register! You can register online, or by mail or in person.

Mississippi - this state doesn’t have an online option, BUT you can still register by mail or in person today

Montana - this state doesn’t have an online option, BUT you can still register by mail or in person up until 11/5

Ohio - today is your last chance to register! You can register online, or by mail or in person

Tennessee - today is your last chance to register! You can register online, or by mail or in person

Texas - this state doesn’t have an online option, BUT you can still register by mail or in person today

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO VOTE

I have a huge list of voting resources here.

Even if you don’t plan on voting, I would highly recommend registering anyways. You might change your mind, so please register anyways!

[nando161mando]

Florida should rename itself to "Israel" maybe it'll get the needed help then

[high-quality-tiktoks]

You know, there are a lot of Queens out there...Ohhh, that one

[tomorrowusa]

Bad news and good news out of Ron DeSantis's Florida.

The Florida Supreme Court will allow a new 6-week abortion ban to take effect in May. BUT the court also approved a ballot initiative for November which would restore reproductive freedom in the state.

Floridians will be able to vote on abortion protections this fall, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Monday—a win celebrated by the state’s Democrats despite the court, in a separate case, also paving the way for a law to take effect that will ban all abortions after six weeks. That six-week abortion ban, passed by Florida’s Republican-majority legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year, will go into effect on May 1. That measure can be undone by voters come November, however. The court’s decision is expected to reverberate across Florida and the southeast. A privacy protection clause in the Florida constitution had allowed the Sunshine State to enjoy abortion access up to 15 weeks despite DeSantis being at the helm—access that women relied upon in nearby states like Alabama and Mississippi, where abortion is outright banned, and in Georgia and South Carolina, which have laws similar to Florida’s soon-to-be-active six-week ban.

DeSantis appointed most of the Florida Supreme Court justices. Another reason why we should pay more attention to state government – regardless of state.

Florida’s Supreme Court, which had five of its seven justices appointed by DeSantis, ruled in favor of the state on Monday, 6-1. Now, Florida women will often be barred from having an abortion before many realize they’re even pregnant.

The court approval of the upcoming referendum, actually a Florida constitution amendment called Amendment 4 on the 2024 ballot, was narrow.

That amendment, if it received at least 60 percent of votes in favor of it, would significantly protect abortion access in Florida. Its text reads, in part, that “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before fetal viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” Viability is estimated to be around six months of pregnancy. The Florida Supreme Court voted 4-3 in favor of approving the amendment to reach the ballot—a tight victory for abortion advocates like Planned Parenthood, which has championed the proposed amendment.

60% is a relatively high bar. But Kansas, arguably more conservative than Florida, had an abortion referendum in 2022 in which the reproductive freedom side got 59.16% of the vote; the Kansas election required just a simple majority but the final result exceeded that by almost 10%.

The necessary 60% for the Florida reproductive freedom amendment required in Florida won't be a cake walk but it is quite doable.

As many as 11 states could have reproductive freedom on the ballot as referendums this year.

Where abortion rights could be on the ballot this fall

^^^ Just to clarify: New York already offers strong reproductive legal protections. The upcoming referendum, if passed, would place freedom of choice into the NY constitution. It doesn't get more secure than that in state law.

[jaybirdscoffee]

in my feelings about the state of florida

[mayra-quijotescx]

seeing the meteorologist that started crying when describing how Milton spun up to something pushing the limits of mathematical possibility and the mayor of Tampa saying that anyone ~choosing to stay~ in Tampa (like it's a fucking choice for many people) is choosing to die and seeing miles and miles of grave-still gridlock on Florida roads because everyone who can run is trying to and it doesn't fucking work that way and seeing how fresh the wounds are that Helene just tore through Appalachia and the Southeast (towards which the northbound Floridian evacuees must flee out of sheer geographical misfortune) and going outside and seeing tarps on apartment roofs and knocked-down fences from Beryl, from Harvey, from fucking Ike in some places and then going downtown and looking at the nice fancy office buildings that don't betray even a hint that the unprecedented derecho that came through in May smashed their windows all to shit and thinking about how the people who cause the problems are also the ones most insulated from its effects and for that matter thinking of how many fucking times in the last eight years I've heard a weather event described as 'unprecedented' and how I'm almost as sick of that word as I'm sick of having its dismissive companion 'resilient' draped around my neck by do-nothing politicians like the world's shittiest participation medal

and praying the people trying to escape Milton and the people who couldn't even try to flee due to poverty or disability or incarceration somehow survive this and praying that everyone saying those people are doomed is not only wrong but also gets some kind of soul-shattering epiphany that forever strips them of the ability to just comfortably give up on entire swathes of people

[antebellumite]

the variety between some of these mottos is sending me.

[cuckweeds]

i really need white liberals to stop telling people who's loved ones are actively being murdered in a genocide funded by joe biden that they still need to vote for him because "trump is worse". I know we are all afraid of what could happen to things like reproductive rights and the lgbtq+ community under trump, that we think that is the worst nightmare to live through, but consider what palestinians are living through RIGHT NOW. they are living through their worst nightmare. and it's being funded and approved by joe biden himself. I know how scary it is to think about losing your rights and privileges to safety, but that is literally already happening to people right now on joe bidens dollar. he will not save us.

[lilithism1848]

[thosemotivationalquotes]

If you are a resident of Florida, please read this!

Florida is going to be having 2 special elections in April of 2025, and here’s what you need to know.

There will be special elections for FL congressional districts 1 and 6. If you you live in FL but don’t know your congressional district, you can check here.

If you are a resident of district 1 or 6, are a U.S citizen, and will be 18 or older by April 1st of 2025, you will be able to vote in the special election.

For FL District 1:

This spot is open due to the resignation of Matt Gaetz

There will be no democratic candidate, and republican primary will be held on 1/28/2025

General election will be 4/1/2025

For FL district 6:

This spot is open because the current representative was appointed to be the national security advisor

There will be a primary on 1/28/2025 for both parties

General election will be 4/1/2025

Florida voter registration deadline is 29 days before the Election Day, so for the primaries you must be registered by 12/31/2024 and for the general election you must be registered by 3/2/2025!

You can click here to register to vote in Florida

You can click here to check if you are registered already in Florida

[nando161mando]

Hurricane Milton hitting us here in Florida

[tomorrowusa]

On the same week that Ron DeSantis came in a humiliating distant second in the Iowa caucuses AND a Democrat flipped a legislative seat in the Orlando area, Florida Republicans are trying to change the subject by advancing legislation to ban pride flags at Florida schools, universities, and government buildings.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A bill advanced by Florida Republicans on Wednesday would ban teachers and other government employees from displaying a rainbow flag — even wearing one as a lapel pin for a day — but they could hang the full-size flag of any “recognized nation” as long as they want, according to the bill’s sponsor. Flag displays that depict a “racial, sexual orientation and gender, or political ideology viewpoint” would be banned from any state or local government building, including public schools and universities, under the bill authored by GOP Rep. David Borrero. Opponents say the bill is inspired by hate. Borrero said it protects children and it would ban even lapel pins representing the flags of the LGBTQ+ and Black Lives Matter movements. “Public classrooms should not be the place where our kids go to be radicalized and evangelized into accepting these partisan, radical ideologies,” Borrero said. “It’s wholly inappropriate to be putting those types of flags in front of public school students and in government buildings.”

The only way to effectively fight back against Ron DeSantis and his fellow Republican homophobes is to register and vote Democratic. These people have to be removed from power and elections are the only way to do it.

It's particularly difficult to do so in Florida because of gerrymanding. Liberals have neglected state government in many states for too long. The result has been authoritarian régimes in Florida, Texas, Tennessee, and elsewhere. But if you take the long view, you will see progress. Eight years ago Michigan had a Republican trifecta; it now has a Democratic trifecta and protections for reproductive freedom and against gerrymandering. Patience and persistent determination do pay off.

I personally prefer registering to vote in person at a city or county office. That way you can sort out potential problems immediately. But if you're unable to do that, there's an online voter registration site in Florida.

Florida Online Voter Registration System

If you do register online, make screen copies of every step of your registration. DeSantis and his Republican buddies will look for technical excuses to keep you from voting.

It's not rainbow flags that are bad for students; REPUBLICANS are bad for students – and everybody else who isn't a bigot, a fascist, or a voracious billionaire.