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Many Parkland survivors’ ballots went uncounted in 2018

Students who survived the mass shooting last year at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., have become some of the most prominent and politically active gun control advocates in the country. But they seem to have had a tough time getting their votes counted.

Fully 15 percent of mail-in ballots cast by Parkland's college-age voters in last year's midterm election were rejected or failed to arrive in time to be counted, according to an analysis of state voting records by Daniel Smith, chairman of the political science department at the University of Florida. The statewide figure for voters 18 to 21 was 5.4 percent of mail-in ballots rejected or uncounted and the overall statewide share was 1.2 percent, Smith noted.


The numbers were reported by the Washington Post, which said the situation in Broward County highlighted questions about the fairness of the Florida electoral system, which includes a very struct signature match standard that some college-age voters clearly failed to meet. "If you are voting in Florida, and you are young in Florida, you have a good chance of your ballot not being accepted," the professor said. "Imagine going to the ATM, and every 10 times you go, instead of spitting out your money, they take it or they lose it."

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Just the Facts: DEI

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Getty Images, AndreyPopov

Just the Facts: DEI

The Fulcrum strives to approach news stories with an open mind and skepticism, looking to present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best as we can, we work to remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces.

However, before our readers can analyze varying viewpoints, they must have the facts.

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The Republican Party Can Build A Winning Coalition With Independents

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The Republican Party Can Build A Winning Coalition With Independents

The results of the 2024 election should put to bed any doubts as to the power of independent voters to decide key elections. Independents accounted for 34% of voters in 2024, handing President Trump the margin of victory in every swing state race and making him only the second Republican to win the popular vote since 1988. The question now is whether Republicans will build bridges with independent voters and cement a generational winning coalition or squander the opportunity like the Democrats did with the independent-centric Obama coalition.

Almost as many independents came out to vote this past November as Republicans, more than the 31% of voters who said they were Democrats, and just slightly below the 35% of voters who said they were Republicans. In 2020, independents cast just 26% of the ballots nationwide. The President’s share of the independent vote went up 5% compared to the 2020 election when he lost the independent vote to former President Biden by a wide margin. It’s no coincidence that many of the key demographics that President Trump made gains with this election season—Latinos, Asians and African Americans—are also seeing historic levels of independent voter registration.

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Large Bipartisan Majorities Oppose Deep Cuts to Foreign Aid

The Program for Public Consultation at the University of Maryland releases a new survey, fielded February 6-7, 2025, with a representative sample of 1,160 adults nationwide.

Pexels, Tima Miroshnichenko

Large Bipartisan Majorities Oppose Deep Cuts to Foreign Aid

An overwhelming majority of 89% of Americans say the U.S. should spend at least one percent of the federal budget on foreign aid—the current amount the U.S. spends on aid. This includes 84% of Republicans and 94% of Democrats.

Fifty-eight percent oppose abolishing the U.S. Agency for International Development and folding its functions into the State Department, including 77% of Democrats and 62% of independents. But 60% of Republicans favor the move.

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