Voters in Miami Lakes enthusiastic, undeterred by bad weather

Featured By David L. Snelling, Reporter Wednesday, October 28, 2020

On the third day of early voting at the Mary Collins Community Center in Miami Lakes, torrential downpours and flooded parking lots didn’t deter voters huddled beneath umbrellas on a line that stretched toward Picnic Park West.

There is a lot of energy and excitement at this polling place, where poll workers applaud first-time voters.

Some voters shared their political passions and reasons for their choices as the line inched toward the voting booths.

One voter said millennials needed to show up, too.

"Young people have had it easy because we live in a country that's free,” said Barbara Salem, 59, of Miami Lakes said on Oct. 22. “They need to know the importance of voting this year."

There were 2,283 early voters at the Miami Lakes polls that day. The location was the second busiest in the county, with 19,980 voters as of Oct. 27, after the Westchester Regional Library where 21,207 people had filled out ballots, according to the Miami-Dade County Elections Department.

Salem was holding signs for candidates and handing out campaign literature to passersby at the polls at 15151 Montrose Rd.

She is supporting the reelection of President Donald Trump and Nayib Hassan, a candidate for town council in Miami Lakes.

Voters have lots of races to weigh in on this year, for president, U.S. Congress, the statehouse, and Miami-Dade County mayor.

Residents may also decide who will fill two town council seats.

Voter Nikki Joseph, 42, an entrepreneur from Palm Springs North, said it was important for women to vote.

"This year's presidential election, every woman who's registered to vote should vote," Joseph said. "I don't care who you vote for but exercise your right to vote. Women’s voices need to be heard, too."

Ana Correa, 66, a retired schoolteacher from Miami Lakes, said she was still undecided about the presidential race. She said she hoped to decide when she got inside the community center.

"I'm an Independent and it's hard for me to decide right now," Correa said. "Which president is better for the economy?”

She also wondered which candidate would support affordable health care for those with fixed incomes.

Longtime Miami Lakes resident Miriam Campos was also at the polls that day and there was no doubt about her choice for president.

She was sporting a pink Trump T-shirt and cap.

"Four more years," she said.