Dozens rally in Broward Co. to get out vote

It was not the Republicans or the Democrats or anyone else, it was voter apathy that more than two dozen men and women were protesting against on a busy street corner west of Fort Lauderdale.

Members of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and their supporters gathered at Sunrise and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards near the Swap Shop, on Saturday morning. They were wearing T-shirts and face masks while hoisting placards and banners with the same message: VOTE.

“We’re trying to drum up some enthusiasm for the people who are still on the fence about voting,” said local chapter president Anthony Aranha. “About half of the registered voters in Broward County didn’t show up to the polls and that could have made a difference in the [2016] election.”

The group has staged several demonstrations and voter registration drives around Broward in recent months in neighborhoods where voter complacency is at its worst.

“We came into certain communities t hat had higher voter registration but lower turnout,” he said.

Presidential races traditionally attract more people to the polls but David Neuwirth — president of A Voteless People is a Hopeless People — was reminding registered voters that’s not the only item on the ballot.

“Local politics affects your daily life just as much if not more than at the national level,” he said.

The voter registration deadline is Oct. 5. Early voting begins Oct. 19. Election day is Nov. 3. Information about mail-in and absentee ballots are already being mailed out to eligible voters.

Contact the Supervisor of Elections offices in Broward at 954-357-7050, Palm Beach County at 561-840-4588, and Miami-Dade at 305-499-8683, or online for more information on voting.

Wayne K. Roustan can be reached at wkroustan@ sunsentinel.com or 561-379-6119 or on Twitter @WayneRoustan