Voter Registration Is Central To Our Mission
The state of Florida has recently passed laws designed to make voting less accessible, a clear attempt at voter suppression.
To comply with this new restrictive voter registration law, the League uses laptops and mobile hot spots to walk applicants through the online registration process. We also give out addressed and stamped envelopes for handwritten applications.
Florida Senate Bill 90 (2021) requires all Florida voters to request a new vote-by-mail ballot for each new election cycle.
The new bill requires an extra step that is easily missed, preventing eligible voters from participating in the election. Learn More
To educate voters on this new law, as well as to encourage voter registration, LWVSRQ uses social media and other platforms to remind people to register, check their status, and renew mail ballots before each election cycle, along with links to make it easy and accessible.
Our Young Adult Engagement Team reaches out to millennials by partnering with local colleges and youth-serving organizations. We encourage young voters to register by participating in job fairs and local college events throughout Sarasota County. Additionally, we post on social media platforms popular with young people and gear our messaging toward them.
Our Education Action Team holds an annual “YVote Contest” for Sarasota County public high school students to stimulate discussion on the role of citizen engagement in our democracy. Students submit an essay, 2D artwork or video reflecting why voting is important.
Our Voter Registration Team reaches out to low income residents and those with special needs. Our food bank flyers, social media tool kits and voter education materials are all available in Spanish.
We send postcards to returning citizens to inform them of LWVFL’s pro bono legal program. Nearly one million Floridians cannot vote because they have served time for a felony conviction (“returning citizens”) and have unpaid fees and fines. LWVFL trains lawyers to convince courts across the state to allow returning citizens to vote. To learn more about this program or volunteer your professional legal expertise click here.
JOIN OUR VOTER SERVICES TEAM Sign Up Today!
"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” Winston Churchill