Reaching black voters

Fifteen ‘souls to polls’ events planned in state

Political activists and the Clinton campaign organize efforts.

Democrats searching for every possible Florida vote for Hillary Clinton are expanding their efforts to turn out African-American voters beyond the traditional “souls to the polls” drives to get black churchgoers to early voting sites after Sunday services.

Souls to the polls rallies, marches and caravans on the two Sundays of early voting, Oct. 30 and Nov. 6, are still a major component of Democratic efforts. A group of black religious leaders announced Friday that 15 major events are planned around the state on the two Sundays.

Black political activists and the Clinton campaign are organizing other efforts aimed at getting as many African-American and Caribbean-American voters as possible to start voting when in-person early voting starts today in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings described it as a “recalibration of our souls to the polls in light of early voting and [mail] voting.”

“The truth is, by the Sunday before the election, most people who are in church have already voted,” he said. Hastings’ district takes in black neighborhoods in Palm Beach and Broward counties.

Hastings said Democrats have knocked on the doors of 30,000 black voters in Broward County. In Palm Beach County, he said, souls to the polls efforts won’t all be concentrated on the traditional last Sunday before Election Day.

Reaching out to younger black voters and black voters in South Florida — especially Broward — is critical, said U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

He and U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., accompanied Hastings to seven meetings and other events in Fort Lauderdale, Plantation and Sunrise all aimed at