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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Item Summary FormAGENDA ITEM SUMMARY FORM File ID: #7589 Date: 06/25/2020 Commission Meeting Date: 06/25/2020 Requesting Department: City Commission Sponsored By: Joe Carollo District Impacted: Type: Resolution Subject: Early Voting Sites for August 18, 2020 Primary Election Budget Impact Analysis Total Fiscal Impact: City Commission Legislative Division Office of Management and Budget Office of the City Attorney Office of the City Attorney Office of the City Attorney Office of the City Clerk Reviewed B Nicole Ewan Valentin J Alvarez Christopher M Rose George K. Wysong III Barnaby L. Min Victoria Mendez City Clerk's Office Meeting Legislative Division Review Budget Review ACA Review Deputy Attorney Review Approved Form and Correctness Rendered Completed Completed Completed Completed Completed Completed Completed 06/25/2020 9:00 AM 06/26/2020 12:47 PM 06/26/2020 3:54 PM 06/26/2020 6:21 PM 06/26/2020 6:29 PM 06/26/2020 6:32 PM 06/26/2020 6:38 PM City of Miami Legislation Resolution Enactment Number: R-20-0188 City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www.miamigov.com File Number: 7589 Final Action Date:6/25/2020 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION URGING THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS TO DESIGNATE THE HISPANIC BRANCH LIBRARY AND THE WEST FLAGLER BRANCH LIBRARY AS EARLY VOTING SITES FOR THE PRIMARY ELECTION SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 18, 2020; DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE OFFICIALS STATED HEREIN; AUTHORIZING THE CITY ATTORNEY TO TAKE ANY AND ALL ACTIONS NECESSARY TO ENSURE THAT THE HISPANIC BRANCH LIBRARY AND THE WEST FLAGLER BRANCH LIBRARY ARE DESIGNATED AS ADDITIONAL EARLY VOTING SITES. WHEREAS, a Primary Election will be held on August 18, 2020 wherein there are many important races that will affect the voters of the City of Miami ("City"), including the races for the State Attorney, several judicial races, the county Mayor, the Property Appraiser, county Commission seats overlapping the City, and the City's Straw Ballot Question; and WHEREAS, the Miami -Dade County Supervisor of Elections ("Supervisor") has not designated an early voting site in any of the three (3) majority -Hispanic City Commission Districts in the City; and WHEREAS, the Hispanic Branch Library located at 1398 Southwest 1st Street, Miami, Florida and the West Flagler Branch Library located at 5050 West Flagler Street, Miami, Florida have previously been used as early voting sites and the Hispanic Branch Library was most recently used during the special election to fill the District 5 County Commission seat in May 2018; and WHEREAS, the demographics of this area are very different from that of the rest of the other designated early voting sites in that the majority of the voters are Hispanic, elderly, on fixed incomes, and/or work multiple jobs to survive; and WHEREAS, both of these additional sites will enable more of the elderly and predominantly Hispanic voters to vote in or near their neighborhoods and promote greater voter turnout; and WHEREAS, between June 2012 and June 2020, the number of registered voters in the City has increased by approximately 37,630, or 22%, thereby necessitating an increase in early voting sites; and WHEREAS, Section 101.657, Florida Statutes, provides that the Supervisor shall designate each early voting site by no later than the 30th day prior to the election and, consequently, there is still ample time for the Supervisor to act on this request; and WHEREAS, as recent as 2018, the City has brought the reduction of early voting sites to the attention of the Supervisor when the City Commission urged that an additional early voting site be designated as an early voting site for the Republican primary for Florida's House District 114; and WHEREAS, the City again finds it necessary to urge the Supervisor to designate one or more early voting sites for the 2020 Primary Election in order to prevent the disenfranchisement of elderly Hispanic voters; and WHEREAS, increasing the number of early voting sites is now more important than ever due to the continuing impact of the Novel Coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic which mandates that every measure to ensure the safety and security of the City's voters be implemented in order to instill voter confidence and further necessitates the addition of one or more early voting sites in order to eliminate congestion at the polling places and to allow for proper social distancing at the early voting sites to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus; and WHEREAS, in accordance with Section 2-33(f) of the Code of the City of Miami, Florida, as amended, the City Commission, by a majority vote, hereby deems this Resolution to be of an emergency nature; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. The recitals and findings contained in the Preamble to this Resolution are adopted by reference and incorporated as if fully set forth in this Section. Section 2. The City urges the Supervisor to designate the Hispanic Branch Library located at 1398 Southwest 1st Street, Miami, Florida and the West Flagler Branch Library located at 5050 Flagler Street, Miami, Florida as early voting sites for the Primary Election on August 18, 2020 or, at a minimum, designate at least one of the foregoing sites for such purpose. Section 3. In the event that the Supervisor does not designate any additional early voting sites for the 2020 Primary Election, the City Attorney is authorized' to take any and all actions necessary, in law or equity, to seek such designations. Section 4. The City Clerk is directed to transmit a copy of this Resolution to Supervisor Christina White and Miami -Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. Section 5. This Resolution shall become effective upon its adoption. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS: ndez, 6/26/2020 1 The herein authorization is further subject to compliance with all legal requirements that may be imposed, including but not limited to, those prescribed by applicable City Charter and City Code provisions.