Governor’s race, Amendment 2 draw voters to polls
Sam Wolff and Rebecca Slaughterback, recent high school graduates, were voting for the first time ever when they arrived at the Church of the Nazerene on Tuesday to cast their ballots on Election Day.
And they seemed to take it seriously, as they saw what many of the other voters saw as the most important (or at least the most interesting) items on the ballot.
As it was with many voters in Southwest Florida, the race for governor, as well as Amendment 2, which would determine whether the state would legalize medical marijuana (and to an extent the fire assessment, though it was a much more one-sided vote), were the topics most thought out at the voting booth.
Both had strong opinions about Amendment 2.
“Just because medical marijuana is legal it doesn’t mean that everyone has to do it,” Wolff said.
I’m for Amendment 2 because it’s controversial, but it can help so many people who need it and not many people realize that,” Slaughterback said. “If you don’t like it, just don’t do it.”
The two issues were also important to John Beale, who also voted for Amendment 2 as well as vote for Charlie Crist.
Joe Messier had a different view as he voted for Crist, but against Amendment 2 it because of the chaos he thought it might create.
“I think it’s going to create a big problem sooner or later just like it did in Colorado,” Messier said.
Rachel Singletary said her main interest was in the governor’s race in which she voted for Crist.
“Scott’s history in the medical profession is why I voted for Crist,” Singletary said.
Kelly Wylage, also found the governor’s race as most important said she also voted for Crist because she has always voted Democratic.
Despite this pocket of Crist voters, in the two Bayshore districts, 67 and 68, Scott carried more of the voters in the governor’s race, following the trend in Lee County with nearly 60 percent of the vote, while Amendment 2, which needed 60 percent to pass, was a narrow miss in those districts, with a hair under 58 percent voting in favor, also mirroring the state in general.
Scott won the governor’s race; medical marijuana failed to garner the 60 percent of the vote needed to pass.
To see how all eight North Fort Myers precincts voted on all the issues, go to www.leeelections.com.