Eddie Saintil is an American citizen from Miami who feels accomplished this morning after last night’s election because he had the opportunity to vote. In the midst of an election he felt enthusiastic about casting his vote but something was stopping him. He was not registered in Leon County and did not have his voter identification card in his possession.
Saintil gave up on the hope of voting until one person came and changed everything.
“I felt left out at first because I had no chance but Mike (Stafford) here said there’s always a way.” Saintil said.
Michael Stafford is a campaign volunteer in Tallahassee who happened to be active in Saintil’s neighborhood. As Stafford was going door-to-door making sure the neighborhood all had the opportunity to vote, he stopped by Saintil’s apartment. Stafford explained that although an individual may be registered in another county, he or she may vote using their current address in Leon County. Stafford volunteered his time and resources to make sure that Saintil could cast his ballot.
There was no reason Saintil’s should not vote, especially because Stafford was offering to provide transportation. With Stafford driving, Saintil made it to his voting precinct and he was able to cast his ballot. Saintil said he could not help but feel a sense of pride and accomplishment after exercising his right.
Absentee ballots have been popular this election especially since supervisor of elections of Leon County Ion Sancho extended early voting until Monday. This comes from Sancho’s strong belief in the importance of voting.
“The fate of the nation and our community will be determined in the upcoming fall elections,” Sancho said in a public service announcement.
When asked what motivates him to help out in such a way, Stafford responded that it comes from a natural inner drive to help out others. According to Stafford, emotions such as empathy are coded in our biology.
“I believe that people are very much social animals.” Stafford said.
Individuals like Stafford together with Ion Sancho’s aggressive campaign to encourage the community to vote gives off a sense of togetherness that falls upon the city in the thought that no voter was left behind in this year’s election.