Students tackle value of hand counting ballots in nonpartisan debate

Florida recount highlights need for increased commitment to civics education in public schools

 As the deadline for Florida’s election recount looms, the Miami Dade College Forensics Society hosted a debate on Thursday to discuss whether all election recounts — like those being conducted for governor, U.S. Senate, and agriculture commissioner — should be conducted by hand. Students were joined by a bipartisan group of elected officials, community leaders, college students and faculty members.

“As Florida election officials undertake this historic recount process, it’s clear that the public trust in our election outcomes is better served by a hand recount of ballots,” said Elizabeth Ramsay, president of the United Faculty of Miami Dade College, which hosted the event at the college’s Kendall campus. “As faith in our democratic institutions continues to erode, it’s critical that we institute policies to strengthen transparency and increase confidence in the electoral process.”

Questions about current election recount procedures have been raised by the news media and by political campaigns during the 2018 election and the subsequent recount. This afternoon’s debate raised fresh perspectives about how the state could improve its electoral processes in the future.

“Students across the state of Florida are watching what’s happening with the recount, and they are hearing the integrity of our democracy being called into question in the media,” said Miami Dade College Professor William Murphy. “This afternoon’s debate was just one way that young people in Florida are working to come up with real solutions to the challenges our democratic institutions face.”

The debate also highlights the value of strong civics education curriculum in Florida’s public schools. Yesterday educators in Broward County introduced a new draft curriculum that would help educators teach about the democratic process and value of civic engagement. The debate was just one of many avenues of dialogue taking place across the state to ensure that every single vote cast in Florida’s elections is counted, and that every Floridian’s voice is heard.

“There is no actual harm in recounting votes,” said debater David Valdez, a student at South Dade Senior High School in Homestead, Florida. “It’s common sense, not controversy…We have recounts so that voters know their voices matter.”

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