1. There are approximately 40,804 registered voters who did not declare a party affiliation and therefore are registered as NPAs (No Party Affiliation). While these voters can vote in the general election, they cannot vote in the primary election …. so if you are one of these voters and want to have a say in who you want as your Democratic candidate in the general election, you must be registered to vote as a Democrat in the primary. Please hurry – you have until February 18, 2020 to change your registration. If you are already a registered Democrat but have friends or relatives who might be NPAs then please pass this information along to them … there is no time to lose. To change your registration you can go to www.charlottevotes.com OR you can call our office at 941-764-8440 OR you can stop by our office at 3596 Tamiami Trail, Suite 202, Port Charlotte, and actually fill out the form right then.
2. If you registered to vote sometime in the past but have not exercised your right to vote in the last 2 general elections you may have been purged from the registered voter file. Within the past year there were over 31,000 previously registered voters who were purged. To be sure that you are still eligible to vote please go to www.charlottevotes.com and check your registration. If you are no longer registered you can sign up while online or, as mentioned above, you can call or stop by our office to register again.
3. If in the past you registered to vote by mail (VBM) please be aware that VBM registrations are only in place for 4 years and then you must apply again to vote by mail. So go online at www.charlottevotes.com and check to see that you are still registered to vote by mail.
4. As unethical as it is, there have been and will be many attempts to suppress your right to vote. The Florida and Charlotte County Democratic Parties will staff a Voter Protection Program to answer your questions or issues. You can contact the Voter Protection Hotline at 833 VOTE FLA (833-868-3352). If you would like to get personally involved in protecting Charlotte County Democrats’ right to vote, call us on (941) 764-8440, Monday-Friday, 10am – 2pm and we will connect you to the right person.
Thank You for Being a Voter! Collectively our individual actions can add up to make a difference in November.