[ot-caption title=”Election Day is not just about the Presidential Race” (Lindsay D’Addato, WyoFile)”]

As election day approaches, millions of people are getting ready to make their decision and some may have already voted since early voting is underway. Many people are excited to vote at the Presidential level based on some early voting results, with tons of media coverage and breaking news, but not everyone is aware about their local and state races and ballot initiatives indicated by a low 36.4 percent of the eligible population voting in elections where the focus are these types of races in 2014. Many of the races this year can go either way, leaving people excited and interested to see the results. Ninth grader Liz Buehl said, “I’m really excited to see how the election turns out since many of the races are so close.” [spacer height=”20px”] 

Florida Senate Race [spacer height=”20px”] 

 The United States Senate race between republican Marco Rubio and democrat Patrick Murphy is getting intense, as many people have seen the ads on television. Both candidates have been travelling across Florida raising millions of dollars for their campaigns. Although Rubio leads Murphy by six points in the HuffPost Pollster’s latest poll, there is still enough time for this race to change its course. In their most recent debate on October 26, 2016 at Broward College in Davie, FL, both candidates showed their strong, harsh feeling towards each other, by accusing one another of lying and being ineffective members of congress. Donald Trump was a point of interest and was mentioned in this heated debate. Rubio spent much of this debate talking about his contributions to congress while Murphy criticized Rubio for supporting Trump. It is clear that both of these candidates are working hard to win this momentous race. [spacer height=”20px”] 

22nd Congressional District Race [spacer height=”20px”] 

Also of interest locally, there is the race for the 22nd Congressional District. This congressional district is located in parts of Broward county and Palm Beach county making it the congressional district for Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale.  The Democratic incumbent Ted Deutch and Republican Andrea Leigh McGee are fighting for a position in Congress. Since this congressional district has many more registered Democrats than Republicans and has voted for Democrats in the past, it is likely that Deutch will win this race. [spacer height=”20px”]

Ballot Initiatives [spacer height=”20px”] 

Florida’s amendments, also known as ballot initiatives, are an important part of this election that sometimes goes overlooked. The decision to choose either yes or no is extremely difficult for voters since their are pros and cons to each amendment. Amendment 1 is about solar energy in Florida. Basically, this amendment gives customers a right to generate their own electricity and install solar equipment on property that they own. It also helps those who choose not to go solar, by not making them pay for people who do have solar. On the other hand, many voters are questioning this amendment, one reason being that most of this amendment’s funding has come from the utility companies. [spacer height=”20px”]

Amendment 2 has also brought up questions and confusion. This amendment is about allowing Floridians the access to medical marijuana. The use of medical marijuana can help reduce pain and epilepsy and possibly seizures. However, others are against this amendment because they fear that the marijuana will be prescribed for illegitimate reasons and will get in the wrong hands, maybe even the hands of a child. This is the second time this amendment has appeared on the ballot. In 2014, it was unable to gain the number of votes that it needed, but it came very close. For either of these amendments to pass, they need to have 60% of the votes on their side.   [spacer height=”20px”]

There are numerous other amendments on the ballot for voters, but these two are the most controversial and the decision will be close.  Voters should make sure to go vote, but not just for the Presidential races since there are Senate races, House races, and ballot initiatives that will affect voters lives in similar or even greater ways then the Presidential election.  [spacer height=”20px”]

Sources: The Huffington Post, Sun Sentinel, Florida Today, HuffPost Pollster, Broward Beat, Epilepsy Foundation, WebMD, CNN, Salon, Arizona PBS News, Knight Foundation, Florida Politics, BillMoyers.com, The Current 

Photo Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wyofile/8170198962