HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-20-0188City of Miami
Resolution R-20-0188
Legislation
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.
SPONSOR(S): Commissioner Joe Carollo
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
City of Miami Page 1 of 3 File ID: 7589 (Revision:) Printed On: 5/5/2025
File ID: 7589 Enactment Number: R-20-0188
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.
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.
City of Miami Page 2 of 3 File ID: 7589 (Revision:) Printed on: 5/5/2025
File ID: 7589 Enactment Number: R-20-0188
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS:
City of Miami Page 3 of 3 File ID: 7589 (Revision:) Printed on: 5/5/2025