POLITICO
Get the Florida Playbook Newsletter
Email
Sign Up
By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or updates from POLITICO and you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service. You can unsubscribe at any time and you can contact us here. This sign-up form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Hello and welcome to Tuesday.
It’s all about the stimulus, stupid Democrats have already hammered Gov. Ron DeSantis for failing to note how the money he’s relying on this summer to hand out $1,000 bonuses to police officers, firefighters and teachers came from the federal government (amid unanimous Republican opposition).
Tuesday s Daily Pulse | 5/11/2021
Some say Florida could become a major tech and finance hub within a decade. That may be an overstatement.
Florida has attracted dozens of financial firms and high-profile investors in recent months. Advocates believe the trend is sustainable and could solidify Florida as a major player in the world of technology and finance. Others say there are some challenges ahead that hinder the Sunshine State’s growth potential. Potential challenges in the way of Florida’s rise include low wages, income inequality and a housing shortage. Migration data and GDP growth from 2020 also do not indicate a major upswing. [Source: CNBC]
Florida corporations have so far remained silent on the state’s restrictive new vote-by-mail measures signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis Thursday in a closed door ceremony that only Fox News was allowed to broadcast.
While several voting rights groups immediately filed lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the new Florida law, there’s been no outcry to boycott Florida’s tourism industry, for instance, or stop eating Publix chicken tender subs.
The muted reaction from corporations in Florida is probably because the changes in election law are viewed as less restrictive compared to Georgia, said Michael Binder, faculty director of the Public Opinion Research Laboratory at the University of North Florida.
But he said the new law doesn’t roll back the number of days for early voting or end early voting sooner before election day.
He said Georgia’s changes to the law came after it had a special election for two U.S. Senate seats that drew national attention on top of Joe Biden winning Georgia in the presidential election of Donald Trump.
“They were spotlighted much more heavily than we were, especially with the claims that the election was stolen and that false narrative the Trump people have spouted,” he said.
Georgia elections law caused turmoil
Reaction was swift when Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed that state’s elections overhaul bill imposing new voting restrictions into law on March 25.