Civics group wants to boost turnout
Jocelyn Carter-Miller wasn’t looking for something new to do.
But she felt compelled to act because of what she found when she went to vote in last summer’s primary election: a dearth of voters. Now, she’s taking the helm of the League of Women Voters of Broward County.
“I’m African-American, and my grandparents are from the South. And my grandparents actually paid poll taxes and took literacy tests. And being an African-American, people died so that I could vote,” she said. “I take voting very seriously.”
When she saw the abysmal participation in the August 2014 primary, she said it “heightened my sense of we really need to do better. People need to be engaged. People need to understand the issues. People need to be informed.”
The11.5 percent turnout in her Tamarac precinct was actually a hair better than the countywide 10.8 percent in Broward. Those numbers are way too low for Carter-Miller, who votes in “every election, no matter how big or small.”
She started attending League of Women Voters meetings earlier this year and decided it offered great potential to help increase participation by voters and a perfect fit with her professional background.
“I saw that it was probably more relevant today than ever before, especially because of the League’s goal to make sure that voters are engaged, that they are informed, that they actively participate in government,” she said.
The former executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Boca Ratonbased Office Depot, said she hopes to broaden the League’s reach, especially to demographic groups that often don’t participate in elections: young and minority voters.
“We realize it’s more than just informing and registering [voters]. We’ve got to make sure that people come out and vote,” she said. She hopes to do that by partnering with civic organizations, including groups of blacks, Hispanics and women, and by increasing use of social media.
Social media is vital to ensure that the organization is relevant in the 21st century, she said. And that jibes with her plan to bring more young people into the organization as members. “We really want to bring that youthful spirit, so that we have people who understand social media, so that social media becomes the way we do things.”
“There’s a group of voters that are referred to as silent voters: Young voters, minority voters, women, particularly women and mothers under middle age. Those groups are underrepresented when you look at the electorate and who gets out to vote,” she said. “We’re looking at social media as a way of getting information out to these voters, because we know that they are more digitally inclined.”
In an era when Facebook, Twitter, plus websites and cable TV provide an endless amount of information, Carter-Miller said there’s still a vital need for the League of Women Voters, which is in its 95th year.
“The niche for the League is a non-partisan organization. We don’t support any parties or specific candidates,” she said. “What we do provide is information… The league studies policy, and in studying the policies and the issues, the League will provide pro and con information.”
Carter-Miller likened it to a “Consumer Reports” for political information.
Harriet Mathis, a board member from Fort Lauderdale, said Carter-Miller is “a blessing” for the organization. “She’s young-ish. I’m 80-something, and she is 50-something,” Mathis said. “She’s very experienced in corporate work and has worked with boards and has traveled, knows the world.”
Mathis said CarterMiller’s background will help the organization move forward.
“It has a history of really excellent research and study and good sound recommendations for good government,” she said. “But their methodology is in the past. It doesn’t do us much good anymore to go out and talk to libraries before election time and to speak about the [constitutional] amendments when there are six people in front of you. The world of changed. And the way of communication has changed.”
Some Republican leaders have criticized the League, arguing it has become a liberal advocacy group. “We call them the League of Women Democrats,” former Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Sid Dinerstein said in May.
Carter-Miller said that isn’t true.
“That’s actually a misperception of the League. The League is a nonpartisan organization, not in support of any parties or any particular candidates,” she said.
Jim Kane, a South Florida pollster and lobbyist who also teaches political science at the University of Florida, said the League of Woman Voters has a stellar reputation among the public.
“If you’ve got a plan, you want their backing, and that can give you some traction. “They do things because they think it’s right, rather than political.”