First, I would like to thank everyone who takes the time to speak, smile and talk with me. Most of all thank you for reading and following my commentary. From here on out, we will publish a biweekly article here at www.thestraighttruth.us and on Facebook The Straight Truth. I would like to start this week’s writing with some comments and lessons learned from the recent campaign trail. Some of which you will find amazing, some educational and a few will leave you wondering if we really live in a modern society.
One of the most repulsive comments provided to someone affiliated with my campaign was “We don’t need a woman on the commission”. I find that comment very suppressive and misogynistic. I hope this individual realizes that women do have the same rights of freedom, liberty and voting privileges as men. In 1887 Susanna Salter was elected to serve as mayor of Argonia, Kansas. She was the first woman to serve as a mayor and local candidate in our country. She served her community without having the right to vote over 137 years ago. A candidate’s service should not be determined by gender, as women have been making this world better for decades.
Another campaign affiliate was texted a photo of me speaking with one of our elected officials at a community event. I was invited to the event and provided an item for auction. At the event I greeted and talked with everyone and as always I embraced most with a hug, The elected individual taking the photo did not like the elected official I was talking with and unfortunately confused my kindness, integrity, and professionalism with their own inability to place personal feelings aside and use professionalism. This individual followed up the text photo with a disgusting video from TikTok and a disparaging message to my affiliate concerning my kindness shown to the elected official. This individual changed voting parties several times and ended up a Republican. You and I both know that individual did not do that to vote for me. The big lesson learned here is that not every elected official has the professionalism or integrity needed to make sound decisions. Unfortunately, the inability to separate your personal feelings and allow personal feelings to supersede professionalism and integrity hurts the advancement and unity of our community and its citizens
The next lesson learned was that several individuals would say to me “My vote doesn’t count” or “My vote isn’t secure enough”. Let me assure you that both of those statements are untrue. With a 7-vote difference all votes count and all are important not just to the candidate but to the entire community. Also after sitting through the recount process, your votes and ballots are some of the most secure items on this earth. All of the ballots cast were located in sealed and secured boxes and the entire process was recorded to ensure compliance with regulations and security of the ballots. Take my word for 2 things your vote is your most important civic duty and your vote and ballot are more secure than a law enforcement evidence locker.
Lastly, I would like to ask everyone to follow the instructions to bubble in your ballot when voting and if you make a mistake ask for a new ballot. If the ballots are not bubbled correctly, the machine may not accept a “check” mark or “x” mark or if marked outside the oval area, the machine may have a hard time reading it. If you make multiple selections on a ballot, the canvassing board does not have a lot of latitude in determining who you intended to vote for. The State of Florida provides examples and inequivalent guidelines as to how the ballot is counted. I want to leave you with a couple of examples so you can be a little more careful and cautious when marking your next ballot.
The following information was provided by the Standard for Determining Voter Intend by the Florida Division of Election effective 8/2024.
Hope you enjoyed these lessons from the campaign trail and I thank you for your readership. Just remember to vote, your vote counts and your vote is secure. Thank you for reading and I will always give you The Straight Truth. The next article will be about the amendments and will include both sides. If you haven’t signed up to get notifications of our articles at www.thestraighttruth.us or like us on Facebook The Straight Truth, please do.
Your Power Lies Within Your Vote
~Mary Ann Hutton