Anecdote

Wanna bet Dade on that? https://t.co/9mFS16s8GA

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) February 24, 2020

I really don't know how much time voters in Florida spend cursing Castro's name, nor how much influence anti-Castroites have in Florida politics to this day.  I won't argue the point one way or the other.  But I voted early yesterday, as is my wont, and it was interesting.

Texas has extensive early voting.  It started last week and runs through the end of this week.  I can't remember the terms of it (beginning so many days before election day, ending so many days before as well), but it's usually long enough to cover two weekends.  It's damned convenient, as during early voting you can vote anywhere there's a polling place.  I remember the days of having to figure out this time where my voting district polling place was.  This was in the days before we even thought of calling inconvenience "voter suppression" (git offa mah lawn, ya punks!), and Texas fixed that decades ago.

I love early voting, IOW.

Every year I go to the same location and vote in the same room.  I mention this because yesterday afternoon the Lovely Wife and I entered the building and I noticed there seemed to be no action (and no signs pointing out the polling place) to the right of the door, as is usual.  She headed that way almost reflexively (we always go "that way" to vote) and I noticed the signs on the left, indicating a new room open for voting.  The election judge/aide sitting on that side of the lobby perked up enough to say yes, we were going in the right direction, yes, they had shifted the location of the voting machines.

I stood in a short line and voted, which took awhile (LOOOOONG ballots in Texas; from President of the US of A to Court of Appeals Judges on courts I didn't know Texas had, and I'm a lawyer.  I was only surprised I didn't have to nominate a candidate for janitor of the courthouse annex.).  The Lovely Wife took a bit longer (as is her wont) and I stood in the lobby waiting for her (you leave the polling place when you're done.  For some reason you can't use the list on your cellphone, but I could take a list in with me.  When some positions have 7 candidates and you aren't even sure what the office is, you need a list.  Did I mention the long ballots?).  As I stood there, I noted the number of people coming in and, as the Lovely Wife had done before, heading off to the right reflexively.  They, like us, had been there many times before.

They were also almost uniformly older than your Humble Host.  Some used canes, some used walkers, some just shuffled very slowly.  But they were quite determined to do their civic duty. (and it was a joint polling place.  Another advantage of technology:  in the old days, Democrats and Republicans voted in separate rooms, sometimes separate locations entirely, and you had to find yours.  Now you just tell the voting judge which primary you want, and the code for the voting machine (!) brings up the ballot you asked for, as well as the precincts you can vote in based on your address.  Texas; precincts mean Justice of the Peace nominees, City Council members, County Commissioners,  dog catcher, snake wrangler, possum chaser....).  I didn't see any "young people."  Maybe they voted the weekend before.  Maybe they'll vote on Super Tuesday.  Maybe they voted later that same day.  I dunno.  But I didn't see any.  And it was a perfect time to show up.  Sunny, clear, cool; lovely day to be out, and last chance for weekend voting before Super Tuesday.  And, at that point, the polls would only be open 4 more hours that day.

This is a slice of the electorate in general, though.  Old people vote.  Maybe they'll vote for Bernie, I don't care.  But if they live in Florida and still spit on the ground every time Castro's name gets mentioned, and they vote, then Bernie's statements on Castro aren't going to help him any.  And how does he get to the White House without Florida?  Bet it all on Texas?

I wouldn't do that if I were him.