Thanks again for having The Miami Herald in your church. Doug. Posted on Sun, Aug. 24, 2014 With pre-election Sunday voting back, ‘souls to the polls’ marks a revival in Miami-Dade By Douglas Hanks and Patricia Mazzei dhanks@MiamiHerald CARL JUSTE / MIAMI HERALD STAFF Pastor Steven Caldwell falls to his knees as he peaches his sermon after calling all members of his congregation to head to the poll in 2014 mid-term elections. The New Providence Missionary Baptist church flexed its political muscles by urging its parishioners to the polls on the Sunday before Election Day on Sunday, August 24, 2014 in Miami. On Sunday morning, Rev. Steven Caldwell urged his parishioners to do their “godly duty” and vote in the primary election, warning them that “if you think your vote doesn’t count, the Devil has lied to you.” If Caldwell’s booming words weren’t enough to move his flock, he had a coach bus waiting outside to drive them to an early-voting site after the service. “We thank God for letting us play a part in the political process,” said Caldwell, pastor at the New Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Miami. “We’re going to vote. Amen.” New Providence’s early-voting bus trip represented just one cog in a broad effort by African-American churches to get their members to cast ballots on the last day of early voting before Primary Day on Tuesday. Championed by Democrats, the churches’ “Souls to the Polls” strategy helped fuel a partisan battle in 2012 when Republican Gov. Rick Scott and the GOP-led Legislature barred early voting on the Sunday before Election Day. They brought it back for 2014, making Sunday a revival of sorts for the relatively new campaign tradition. “It’s human nature to wait until the last minute,” said Rev. Johnny Barber, of the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, while greeting parishioners outside the polling place in Miami’s Caleb Center. “We do it for Christmas [shopping]. And we do the same thing even when it comes down to voting.” Before the polls closed at 4 p.m., early voting and absentee ballots were running at just under 20 percent of eligible voters, about the same turnout recorded in the 2010 elections, said Carolina Lopez, deputy director of the Miami-Dade County elections department. Florida instituted early voting in 2004 as a way to fix some of the problems that plagued the 2000 presidential election. It was also the busiest day of early voting this cycle, with 4,235 people in Miami-Dade casting ballots. Democratic contenders for governor Charlie Crist and Nan Rich spent Sunday morning at the New Birth Baptist Church in Miami, as candidates across the region took advantage of the final day available to greet voters before Tuesday’s showdown. While a judge visited New Providence for the 8 a.m. service, the pews were politician-free for the later session. Caldwell credited his “no drive-by” policy — his rule that if a candidate wants to address the congregation, he or she must attend the full two-hour service first. “If you are asking people for your vote, I think you ought to give them that part of your time,” Caldwell said. “Be there with us, and fellowship with us and our culture. I think that’s important.” With light voter turnout expected, the church vote could have out-sized importance, particularly for two hotly contested nonpartisan commission races in Miami-Dade. African-American churches are considered a key battleground in the rematch between two Democrats in District 2: incumbent Commissioner Jean Monestime and the man he unseated four years ago, Dorrin Rolle. Both are Democrats. In South Dade’s District 8, challenger Danielle Levine Cava is counting on higher Democratic turnout across the region to unseat incumbent Lynda Bell, a Republican. In Homestead, the local NAACP chapter organized an outdoor barbecue — with entertainment from a youth gospel choir — on a tree-shaded parking lot catty-corner from a Homestead early-voting site on Krome Avenue. “We really want to celebrate our right to vote,” said Kevin Chambliss, the organization’s South area director. Attendance, at least early on, was sparse. But the grill smoked, Motown tunes blared and neighbors swapped notes on their favorite candidates. The singing children were from Homestead’s Whole Armor Ministries. Pastor Deborah Vaz said she hoped to instill in them a voting tradition from a young age. “Some of my members are too young to vote,” she said. “But they wanted to be a voice to voters, to make sure that the community is run by people who care about the total community.” The NAACP doesn’t endorse candidates, but Chambliss’ day job is in the office of Miami Democratic Congressman Joe Garcia, who posed for photographs with constituents at the barbecue. He’s not on the ballot until November, but spent the weekend campaigning with Levine Cava. The day’s Souls to the Polls theme was evident throughout Miami-Dade, including when Levine Cava took the microphone at the NAACP event. “I ask for your prayers, for your blessings,” she said. “Can I hear an ‘amen’?” Eighteen miles north, Commissioner Bell was also courting voters — at the Coral Reef Library, where she was surrounded by volunteers. “You can tell I’ve been out in the sun,” she said, pointing to the bronze tan on her arms. She fanned herself with a bell-shaped campaign sign attached to a wooden panel that read, “I’m a Lynda Bell Fan.” Bell reiterated her belief that midterm elections don’t require two full weeks of early voting Still, enough voters were streaming into the library for Bell, a former Homestead mayor, to greet them in English and in Spanish. Twice, people did a double-take when they realized it was the commissioner herself who was saying hello. The Bell-Cava race is the most expensive in commission history, with more than $1 million raised by the candidates and their two campaign committees. In District 2, which has the largest black population of the 13 commission districts, Monestime has raised close to $500,000. Rolle’s total in the last campaign report was a modest $46,000. The third candidate, Miami pastor A.D. Lenoir Sr., raised about $4,000. All of Rolle’s $5,000 advertising budget went to either The Gospel Truth newspaper or WMBM, a local gospel radio station. Backing in African-American churches is considered crucial for Monestime, the first Haitian-American commissioner. “Monestime has made major strides,” said Rev. Carl Johnson, of the 93rd Street Community Baptist Church. “I’m on the radio endorsing him.” Monestime and Rolle were not available for interviews Sunday. The Miami Herald also was unable to arrange interviews with five pastors listed as Rolle campaign contributors. Only a few people lined up outside the New Providence front doors to board the bus for church Sunday’s trip to the polls. “I want to beat the crowds,” Alfreda Collins said as she readied for the five-minute drive from the chuch to the Caleb Center. “Parking is always a problem there.” At the polling site, the gospel tune “I Don’t Mind Waiting” blared from a pair of speakers near the entrance. Terry Wilcox provided the music. “The purpose of the music is to inspire people,” Wilcox said, “but at the same time spread the gospel of God.” Miami Herald staff writer Marc Caputo and El Nuevo Herald staff writer Juan Tamayo contributed to this report. © 2014 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved. miamiherald Read more here: miamiherald/2014/08/24/v-print/4307279/with-pre-election-sunday-voting.html#storylink=cpy -- Doug Hanks County Hall Reporter The Miami Herald 3511 NW 91st Ave., Miami FL 33172 dhanks@miamiherald 305-376-3605
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:26:58 +0000
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