Souls to the Polls this weekend and the last chance for early voting

MIAMI, Fla. – There’s plenty going on in the weekend leading up to Election Day. For one, Sunday is the last day to vote in the early election in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Marleine Bastien is one of the community leaders who, on Saturday and Sunday, will be participating in Souls to the Polls.

Faith in Florida is working with hundreds of churches across the state to host the early voting events, including one in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood.

“It’s the final push to get everyone to vote in the most consequential election of our lifetime,” said Bastien, the executive director of the Family Action Network.

On Friday, early voting sites were extremely active in the morning with a steady flow of voters at North Dade Regional Library.

Earlier this week, Florida eclipsed 2016 early voting totals, explains NSU Professor Charles Zelden with voter engagement sparked by the top of ticket contest between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

“We are getting voters who didn’t vote two years ago, who didn’t vote in 2016,” Zelden said. “People are voting in this election not necessarily because they love Trump or they love Biden but because of what they stand for about what they love about America and what they want America to be,” he said.

Florida is a critical must-win battleground state for both candidates, Zelden said.

While Thursday’s Quinnipiac poll placed Biden up by 3 points in Florida, but given the margin of error it is a statistical dead heat.

“This is Florida. I don’t care what the polls are saying, it’s going to be close,” said Zelden.

Hence the parade of political heavyweights visiting South Florida in recent days to include former president Barack Obama and Trump’s daughter, Ivanka. This weekend will be an anticipated visit to South Florida by Biden’s vice president Kamala Harris on Saturday and a return to Miami expected by President Trump on Sunday.

>Early voting election location in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

>GET ELECTION READY: For complete information and resources, visit Local 10′s 2020 Voter Guide.

>COVID-19 REGULATIONS: Elections Supervisor tells voters what to expect.