Dr. Barbara Sharief Releases Public Service Announcement Spots Encouraging Voters to Enroll in Florida's Vote-By-Mail Program Ahead of The Upcoming Presidential Election

DAVIE, Fla., Oct. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today former Broward County Mayor Dr. Barbara Sharief is unveiling three new public service announcements that she collaborated on with four other high-profile Broward County residents. The spots are in both English and Spanish which feature radio personality "Papa" Keith, Venezuelan Singer Edward Mena, Miramar Vice-Mayor Alexandria P. Davis, and Community Activist Lourdes Diaz.

The spots will begin airing today on ABC, CBS, NBC, Telemundo, Comcast Cable, and ATT U-Verse. Dr. Sharief bought time to air these spots on many popular television networks, such as BET, CNN, CNNE, MSNBC, ESPD, and OWN. Some of the shows with high audiences that will see the sports are Good Morning America, Nightline, HOY DIA, Noticiero TLMD, ENFOQUE Politico, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Myers, Jim Defede, Glenna Milberg, and the local news. Voters will see these public service announcements daily for the next month in Monroe, Miami-Dade, and Broward Counties.

The background on the vote-by-mail ballot change was carefully laid out in an August 5, 2023, editorial in the Sun Sentinel. The editorial board stated that "In case you forgot (and the politicians in control hope that you have). A recent change in state law wiped away every voter's old request for a mail ballot". The editorial board went on to say that "The new law meant that millions of standing requests for mail ballots disappeared after the 2022 election, forcing all of those voters to submit new requests".

Dr. Sharief felt so strongly about this issue that she is personally committing almost $100,000 for the month-long ad buy to ensure that voters are made aware of the changes in Florida's election laws that will be in effect for the Presidential election, (this law also affects all state and local elections in 2024).

Dr. Sharief said, "I am deeply concerned that voters will be waiting by their mailboxes expecting their vote-by-mail ballot that will never come. This new law removed their names from the list of voters who have been receiving ballots at home for the last few years and their names were deleted from the permanent vote by mail list that the local supervisor of elections have been maintaining for years at the direction of the state legislature."

Dr. Sharief went on to say "after reading the Sun Sentinel editorial I knew I wanted to do something to make voters aware of this change in our law. There were 2,800,000 voters who cast a ballot by mail for Governor last year which was the most popular form of voting and most if not all, must re-enroll at their local supervisor of election office if they wish to vote for any elections next year from the comfort of their own home.

The public service announcements are non-partisan, and they were shot in a home to symbolize how convenient voting can be with a vote-by-mail ballot. The spots ask voters to contact the supervisor elections directly and they provide a phone number and QR code so voters can get assistance to enroll in Florida's vote-by-mail program. Millions of voters have chosen this method to vote after the long lines and chaos of the infamous 2000 presidential election, and vote-by-mail participation spiked again during the pandemic.

Dr. Barbara Sharief said, "It is my sincere hope that voters will see these advertisements and contact their local supervisor of elections to request a vote-by-mail ballot. Of course, if voters wish to participate in the electoral process by voting in person early or on election day this law will not affect voters who desire to vote in that manner. These spots are targeted to the millions of voters who were on the list to receive a ballot and were deleted from the list because our state legislature passed a law which will make it harder for them to vote in the manner, that they have become accustomed to."

To view the public service announcements please go to @barbarasharief1778 on YouTube.

For interview requests please contact Dr. Barbara Sharief at 954-967-1900.

SOURCE Dr. Barbara Sharief