VOTE TOMORROW!!!!! (An Adventure at the FL Polls)

[keepsmiling]

We breezed in and out in 15 minutes here in our lil Jersey burb.

[IBroke]

Romney was one of the weakest candidates since Bob Dole.

I don't think they can blame it on him. There is a fundamental problem:

The Republican core become so far right that for some, Mitt Romney was too liberal. However, no one further to the right would have had the slightest chance of winning. Look at the primary debates of the Republican Party:

The candidate who wanted to build the highest fence at the border to Mexico and kick out immigrants as fast as possible got the biggest applause - and today, those people are wondering why the Latino vote went to somebody else...

[IBroke]

They are still counting FL votes right now..lol

Well, why am I not surprised?

[tobee43]

What I hate is the President was re-elected before they even counted the West Coast. At least five States had not been counted and the President was re-elected. Sometimes I feel like it's a waste of time voting, living on the west coast. And what about Hawaii? The election was over before alot of folks in Hawaii even voted.

maybe that's because he from hawaii and won it by over 70%. what they do is go into the counted areas and calulate the demo and rep areas....if all the votes are in for the rep areas they are certain the votes in the heavily populated demo areas vote democrate.

calif he won by over 2 million votes, they knew that before the polls closed that's why they called it.

[tobee43]

I don't think they can blame it on him. There is a fundamental problem:

The Republican core become so far right that for some, Mitt Romney was too liberal. However, no one further to the right would have had the slightest chance of winning. Look at the primary debates of the Republican Party:

The candidate who wanted to build the highest fence at the border to Mexico and kick out immigrants as fast as possible got the biggest applause - and today, those people are wondering why the Latino vote went to somebody else...

i agree, the right wing tea party has really put a cloud over the republican party. i don't want to have any thing to do with them although i help put them there and i am really ashame of myself, because i believed what they said. not knowing they were going to hold the entire country hostage over the debt ceiling. they have to go so there is more of a balance in the house and the senate. that's the only way things are going to get done.

i was please most all the tea partiers lost their seats, so everyone knows they have done more harm than good to this country. maybe this time area we can get some things done.

[tobee43]

They are still counting FL votes right now..lol

yes, and i see that the obama care they threw out and the aboration thing past....i dont' know about anymore of those results as yet, florida is really terrible....so behind the times.

[Freddy03]

yes, and i see that the obama care they threw out and the aboration thing past....i dont' know about anymore of those results as yet, florida is really terrible....so behind the times.

From Maxwell's column Orlando Sentinel-

"Amendment 1 — Opposing Obamacare. The Affordable Health Care Act is now the law of the land. But Republicans legislators want to change that — at least here in Florida. There are questions about whether this amendment is even constitutional since it calls for state laws to trump federal ones. But you'll still vote on it. Vote yes if you think Florida should try to secede from the Affordable Health Care Act."

I'm glad this did not pass because it does not need to clutter up the constitution anymore then it is.

"Amendment 6. Abortion. The main thing this amendment tries to do is waive a woman's right to privacy with regard to abortion. Republican legislators want more hurdles to abortions. But the state constitution's privacy protections have made that difficult. So lawmakers want those protections weakened. Current laws already ban public money from being spent on abortions, except in cases such as rape and incest. But this would enshrine that ban in the constitution. This would also expand that principle to impact publicly funded health-care plans. Basically, vote yes if you think women seeking an abortion should lose their state-protected right to privacy, and if you want to strengthen and expand existing laws that already ban public spending on abortions."

I'm glad this did not pass. It's my body my rights. I do not need some old man telling me what I can do. Not everyone has the same religious views about abortions.


I would like to know from any Floridians who voted yes for the amendments: 2,9 and 11. Where do you think that money is going to come from? It wasn't free money. It's already budgeted money that has to be now pulled from other tax payers, less money for public school, public roads, etc.

I voted NO on all amendments for the simple reason these should not be added to the constitution. These are all issues that can and should be handled by the state individually.

[tobee43]

thanks freddy,

yes, they are saying MOST all these should have never been put on the ballot. it's just terrible.

i voted NO on all except the ones you mentioned LOL!!!

i did vote yes on no. 2. thinking this should be funds that are all helped by the vets administration.
yes, on no 9 as well LOL!!! for surviving spouses of vets. again, i think federal funds should also be added to help with that.
wow...ok no. 11....yes i did vote yes as well.

those were the ONLY yes'es i voted!

however, i am also with you, these constitutional issues had NO place on this ballot. but since i'm a wife of vet, a daughter of a vet and have brothers that are vets we have a bit diffent perspective on the "vet" questions. again, they shouldn't have been put on the ballot. if they can get money for this and that, they can scape up some for the families of vets. eduation is another big one for me and there was nothing there about that.

wish we could have at least legalized pot..LOL!!!

i thought amendment 1 passed? if not i'm glad it didn't. cnn said it did?

[Freddy03]

thanks freddy,

yes, they are saying MOST all these should have never been put on the ballot. it's just terrible.

i voted NO on all except the ones you mentioned LOL!!!

i did vote yes on no. 2. thinking this should be funds that are all helped by the vets administration.
yes, on no 9 as well LOL!!! for surviving spouses of vets. again, i think federal funds should also be added to help with that.
wow...ok no. 11....yes i did vote yes as well.

those were the ONLY yes'es i voted!

however, i am also with you, these constitutional issues had NO place on this ballot. but since i'm a wife of vet, a daughter of a vet and have brothers that are vets we have a bit diffent perspective on the "vet" questions. again, they shouldn't have been put on the ballot. if they can get money for this and that, they can scape up some for the families of vets. eduation is another big one for me and there was nothing there about that.

wish we could have at least legalized pot..LOL!!!

i thought amendment 1 passed? if not i'm glad it didn't. cnn said it did?

LOL

I too come from a military family (Dad, Father in Law, Husband and both Grandfathers are all Veterans) My husband is a vet and currently a first responder but right now my children's public schools are hurting bad because so many people are not paying their taxes they just can't afford any more cuts. Veteran's already get a pretty good discount on taxes addition to the homestead.

[Freddy03]

This was another big one that did not pass. It would cost Floridians over 1 billion dollars over the next 3 years.

"Amendment 4 — Tax breaks for non-homestead properties. Right now, the property taxes on your home can't go up by more than 3 percent a year. This amendment would provide a similar cap (of 5 percent) to businesses, vacation homes and rental properties as well. Budget analysts estimate it would cost local governments $1 billion over the first three years. That means either service cuts or tax increases for everyone else. The amendment also includes a tax break for first-time homeowners. Supporters say the tax breaks would stimulate growth and stabilize tax rates. Vote yes if you want to give tax breaks to businesses and second-homeowners — and are willing to either pay more in taxes or have fewer services to make up the difference."

[GoingDown]

The candidate who wanted to build the highest fence at the border to Mexico and kick out immigrants as fast as possible got the biggest applause - and today, those people are wondering why the Latino vote went to somebody else...

I agree with that. They won't want to hear this, but if they ever hope to win the White House again, they are going to have to realize that the demographics of the country have changed and will continue to change. They need the Hispanic vote or soon they will lose Texas, Georgia, Arizona, etc. If they want to win next time, they need to get behind Marco Rubio now and pass his immigration reform bill, making it easier for people to come here legally and giving the people already here a clear path to citizenship, so they can come out of the shadows and not fear deportation. I live with these people, I work with them. They are not going anywhere, and all the Republicans are doing by making it hard on them is alienating them.

What the Republicans fail to grasp is that most Hispanic immigrants have more in common with them than they realize. If they hadn't been so antagonistic toward them, they would have had a better chance of getting their votes.

If they ran Rubio as the presidential candidate, and maybe Condoleeza Rice as the vice presidential candidate next time, I think they might stand a good chance of winning.

[tobee43]

This was another big one that did not pass. It would cost Floridians over 1 billion dollars over the next 3 years.

"Amendment 4 — Tax breaks for non-homestead properties. Right now, the property taxes on your home can't go up by more than 3 percent a year. This amendment would provide a similar cap (of 5 percent) to businesses, vacation homes and rental properties as well. Budget analysts estimate it would cost local governments $1 billion over the first three years. That means either service cuts or tax increases for everyone else. The amendment also includes a tax break for first-time homeowners. Supporters say the tax breaks would stimulate growth and stabilize tax rates. Vote yes if you want to give tax breaks to businesses and second-homeowners — and are willing to either pay more in taxes or have fewer services to make up the difference."

i am SO with you on the education situation. (Both my kids are married to teachers), and they need help for certain. We don't get much of a tax break for the vet status on this property.

I very much agree with you, because of all the empty houses the revenues should be down, but really they aren't.....why? because on all these vacant houses the banks are paying the taxes, or all these places would be up for tax sales. the banks are not ready to give them up for back taxes. so it's sort of a misnomer with the respect to the towns not rec'ing the tax money. although, our taxes have gone down since the property values have gone way down. we are at about 1/2 of what we paying when we first moved here although, we still pay quite high taxes.

i did vote no on 4 as well.

[tobee43]

here's the finals in all of florida's amendments:


Florida Amendment 1: Health Care Services – Fail

With most of Florida’s precincts reporting, this amendment did not meet the 60 percent requirement to pass.

The amendment would have given Florida the ability to opt out of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.


Florida Amendment 2: Veterans Disabled to Combat Injury; Homestead Property Tax Discount – Pass

With most of Florida’s precincts reporting, this amendment met the 60 percent requirement to pass.

This amendment gives disabled veterans who did not live in Florida when they entered the military a break on their property taxes. It essentially extends the homestead property tax discounts to include them.


Florida Amendment 3: State Government Revenue Limitation – Fail

With most of Florida’s precincts reporting, this amendment did not meet the 60 percent requirement to pass.

This amendment would have set the state’s revenue limit based on a formula that takes inflation and population growth into account.


Florida Amendment 4: Property Tax Limitation; Property Value Decline; Reduction for Non-Homestead Assessment Increases; Delay of Scheduled Repeal – Fail

With most of Florida’s precincts reporting, this amendment did not meet the 60 percent requirement to pass.

This amendment would have limited the allowable growth in the assessments on certain non-homestead properties from 10 percent to 5 percent. It would have also prohibited increases in assessed value on homestead properties and some non-homestead properties when market values decrease. It also intended to give first-time homesteaders an extra exemption. The amendment would have provided homestead tax exemption benefits to out-of-state residents.


Florida Amendment 5: State Courts – Fail

With most of Florida’s precincts reporting, this amendment did not meet the 60 percent requirement to pass.

This amendment would have required that Supreme Court justices appointed by the Governor also be confirmed by the Senate. It also would have enabled the court to repeal a rule through a simple majority instead of requiring the two-thirds majority vote that is now in place. In addition, it would have given the Florida House of Representatives the ability to review all files of the Judicial Qualifications Commission.



Florida Amendment 6: Prohibition on Public Funding of Abortions; Construction of Abortion Rights – Fail

With most of Florida’s precincts reporting, this amendment did not meet the 60 percent requirement to pass.

While federal law already prohibits the use of federal funds for most abortions, this amendment would have added the prohibitions into the state Constitution. The amendment would have disallowed the use of the state Constitution’s privacy clause in cases related to abortion, which means this clause couldn’t be used to defend abortion rights.



Florida Amendment 8: Religious Freedom – Fail

With most of Florida’s precincts reporting, this amendment did not meet the 60 percent requirement to pass.

This amendment would have repealed a provision in the state Constitution that bans taxpayer funding of religious institutions. The measure would have enabled the state to provide financial support to religious schools and institutions.


Florida Amendment 9: Homestead Property Tax Exemption for Surviving Spouse of Military Veteran or First Responder – Pass

With most of Florida’s precincts reporting, this amendment met the 60 percent requirement to pass.

This amendment gives full homestead property tax benefits to the surviving spouses of military veterans and first responders who are killed in the line of duty. The new rule requires that the deceased be a Florida resident as of Jan. 1 of the year they died.



Florida Amendment 10: Tangible Personal Property Tax Exemption – Fail

With most of Florida’s precincts reporting, this amendment did not meet the 60 percent requirement to pass.

This amendment would have raised the tangible personal property tax exemption for businesses related to furniture and equipment from $25,000 to $50,000.

Florida Amendment 11: Additional Homestead Exemption for Low-Income Seniors who Maintain Long-Term Residency on Property; Equal to Assessed Value – Pass


With most of Florida’s precincts reporting, this amendment met the 60 percent requirement to pass.

This amendment would grants full homestead property tax relief to seniors in the low-income tax bracket who have lived in their homes for 25 years or more.



Florida Amendment 12: Appointment of Student Body President to the Board of Governors of the State University – Fail

With most of Florida’s precincts reporting, this amendment did not meet the 60 percent requirement to pass.

This amendment would have changed the way the state selects student representatives to serve on the state university system’s Board of Governors.

Results are considered unofficial until they are certified by the state of Florida.


When ever that will be?????? but this was published as what has passed so far all though apparently not quite "official" until the presidential votes are completed. maybe by next year?

[HRx]

Continue this discussion in the following thread: http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.ph...cussion/page87