Issues of Interest

ELECTIONS PREPARATION The Governor signed an executive order on June 17th encouraging schools to close on both the primary and general election days so that schools can be used as voting sites. He also encouraged teachers and administrators to serve as poll workers. Additionally, the Governor is offering state workers paid time off to serve as poll workers and is encouraging counties and cities to do the same for their staff. In the meantime, elections supervisors are preparing for the August primaries by buying no-contact thermometers to check poll workers’ temperatures; setting up curbside tents so voters can drop off mail-in ballots without getting out of their cars; sending out information cards to let voters know if polling sites have changed; and securing face shields and Plexiglas barriers to separate poll workers and voters.

GENERAL SMITH STATUE The Florida Legislature voted in 2016 to remove the statue of Confederate General Kirby Smith in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. and voted in 2018 to replace it with black civil-rights leader and educator Mary McLeod Bethune. The Lake County Commission had supported the state-backed relocation of the statue to the Lake County Historical Society and Museum. However, the Commission is drafting a resolution advising the Governor that the State needs to look at finding a new home for the statue, suggesting instead a place like St. Augustine or the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee.

BAR EXAM As Florida grapples with a dramatic upswing in COVID-19 cases, the Florida Board of Bar Examiners canceled the in-person July general bar exam and will instead administer an online exam on August 19th.

HURRICANE SEASON Hurricane Season began on June 1st, but it is never too late to be prepared! The Red Cross offers many suggestions for getting your family ready.