Socialist Party of Florida Voters

After just a little elbow grease, paperwork, time, and some signatures, the Socialist Party of Florida (state charter of the Socialist Party USA) is now a registered minor political party in Florida. So you ask, Why is this so important? Well, to begin with, most Floridians will never hear the good news anyway because of the establishment. As most of you are aware, when you register to vote only the Democrats and Republicans are listed, as well as the catch-all "Other." If you don't know the names of the parties on the "Other" list you're out of luck. In fact, until April 1998, if you wrote Socialist you were mistakenly registered with the Socialist Workers Party.

But all that's in the past, and people are registering -- and they are registering with the Socialist Party of Florida. We are really fortunate to be able to register as Socialist in Florida. Many states have active third parties with many members but they are kept off the records and off the ballots. We will be easier to find by prospective voters now that we are registered with the state. The Florida Division of Elections has an Election Resources page that has links to the major and minor parties, including the Libertarians, and, yes -- the Socialist Party of Florida! In addition, Leon, Brevard and Orange counties have links to us on their election web pages. As the Florida Constitution gets revised this year, ballot access will hopefully be improved. Florida will soon become more democratic and voters will have more choices than ever before. If you need to register to vote, it is very easy. All you have to do is call your local Supervisor of Elections and request a form. Registration forms are also available at many local libraries.

To register with us, check the "Minor Party" box and fill in Socialist Party of Florida.  Again, keep in mind that there are two completely different socialist parties in Florida --us (democratic socialists et al) and the Socialist Workers Party (Marxist-Leninist). If you registered before April you were placed under SWP automatically. Now you can change your party affiliation, if you need to do so.

Registering as SPF is important in many ways. First, it is a personal statement, a declaration that you are a Socialist and not "Other" or "No Party Affiliation." Second, being a registered Socialist is something that some people around the world can never do, especially in some U.S. states! It sends a message to the state and to our elected officials that many people do not follow their capitalist rhetoric and in due time will be running campaigns for the underrepresented.

Comrade Mark Allen is a former co-chair for the Socialist Party of Florida. This article appeared in the June 1998 issue of the Florida Socialist, the party's newsletter.

• Click here to go to the Florida Division of Elections to get the on-line form.
• Make sure to read the legalese to understand your rights and ability to vote.
• If you just need the form to change your current status to SPF then click here for the form.
  
• On line 12 fill in "minor party" and write-in SPF or Socialist Party of Florida.