Use this link to view the letter sent by members. Feel free to print the letter, sign and send to Speaker Perez, or write your own letter regarding this issue. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vG3XLvXDs7RwjGGd0TzDln7ODGKb3vlekwM4TER1dT4/edit?usp=sharing

Election day for these special elections is April 1. Early Voting is March 22 – 29. The deadline to register is coming up soon on March 3.

The deadline to request Vote by Mail is March 20. Please, remember that anyone who voted by mail in previous elections has now had that request thrown out per Florida State Legislation which requires a new Vote by Mail request after each general election. Every member of Third Act who regularly votes by mail should enter a new request, and please help your friends and family who need this option to send a new request. You may not live in Districts 1 or 6, but special elections could come up in other Districts and it is best to be prepared.

Weil Lives in Orlando where he is a single Dad to two sons and works as a teacher in the Florida Public Schools.  On his website  Josh Weil  states that he “is committed to solving real problems for hardworking families, seniors, and small businesses in Florida’s 6th District.”

On issues he states “We need to protect our environment, fix healthcare, lower drug prices, keep up with inflation for seniors living on a fixed income, and reset our economy—so that it works for everyone…”

Click here to view his website https://www.joshweil.us/

Third Act Florida endorses Josh Weil in part due to his commitment to environmental issues. His election will bring the margins in the House of Representatives one step closer and send a strong message that many Americans oppose the unraveling of environmental protections from our Federal Government.  But he will need support to win in the District. If you choose to help you can use the links below. 

Postcarding ttps://www.mobilize.us/joshweilforcongressionaldistrict6/event/754034/

Phonebanks https://www.mobilize.us/joshweilforcongressionaldistrict6/event/753800/

In 2017, David became the youngest city commissioner elected in the history of Gainesville. During two terms on the commission, he was selected by fellow commissioners twice as Mayor Pro Tempore to lead an effort to develop gun safety policies; affordable living for working families, and ways to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

​Outside of holding public office, he has been employed by small businesses He currently works for a homegrown company which provides rural internet service through the Affordable Connectivity Program. In his free time, he led the founding of the Alachua County Young Democrats and Hispanic Caucus. He volunteered with Alachua County Emerging Leaders, for the Gainesville Sun Reader’s Advisory Board, and served as a Board Member of Family Promise, a nonprofit organization committed to ending childhood homelessness in our community.  In addition to those roles, he served as part of numerous local boards and committees:

• Chair of the  Alachua County Education Compact Vocational-Technical Training Committee
• Chair of the Rental Housing Subcommittee
• Chair of the Alachua County Water & Climate Policy Board
• Chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization
• Member of the Zero Waste Subcommittee
• Member of the  Digital Connectivity Subcommittee
• Member of the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council.

Third Act Florida supports David in his focus on protection of abortion rights, gun reform, and adaptation to climate change.

Best wishes,

Third Act Steering Committee

Kamala Harris has actively supported the new climate initiatives of the Biden administration, including the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) and BIIL (Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment Law) that are leading to a broad spectrum of clean energy infrastructure investments, that will pay dividends by creating in industries and jobs in decades to come.

At the same time, Third Act Florida is committed to protecting our small-d democracy from threats that are looming as the election nears.  Already, Republicans up and down the ticket are raising questions about the integrity of our elections, after throwing up new barriers to voter participation in many states.  Neither party would like to see a repeat of the Jan. 6 takeover of the Capitol.  We will need a broad and convincing coalition to make the results of the election beyond question, and ensure a smooth transfer of power to the new administration.  We learned as young people that democracy is not a spectator sport.

On these and so many other issues, we believe that a new Harris-Walz administration will serve to unify our country and continue the progress that we have made on these and other fronts.  Another Trump term would be disastrous.  Make your vote count!

There are a multitude of reasons why Rick Scott should be ousted from the Senate, but the biggest (from our standpoint) is his intentional opposition to all environmental policies.  He echoes Governor DeSantis’ positions on energy, that is to prolong our dependence on natural gas to power our utilities and industries.  Dealing with climate change is not even in the Governor’s dictionary, while Rick Scott only denounces the “nutty policies” that deniers like him claim would harm our economy or our jobs—climate be damned.  While serving as Governor, Scott emasculated the staff and regulatory authority of the regional Water Management Districts, so flooding and water quality are bigger issues than ever.

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell acknowledges that climate change is real, and must be dealt with to protect Florida’s citizens, their property, and our environment.  She will support and champion policies that will protect the powers of the EPA to protect our air and water. The Republican approach, dismissing sea level rise as only “nuisance flooding” and promoting “drill, baby, drill” will only dig us deeper in the hole. Floridians must take action to change the trajectory of climate chaos. Voting for policy-makers that acknowledge the urgency of human-caused climate change is a necessary first step.

The Best Reason

You can track your ballot and be sure that it arrives and is counted.

This is a Close Race

In the upcoming election the race is close. The very best way to be sure that your vote is counted is to Vote by Mail. You receive a ballot in your mailbox at your home where you can take time to review it and the candidates. After marking your ballot return it by mail or at a certified Drop Box. Then track your ballot to be sure it arrived and is counted. If there is any question about your ballot you will be able to clear up any issues without the need to cast a provisional ballot.

Most ballots are accepted without any issues, but there is a small chance that your ballot could be rejected due to a signature issue, or other small mistake. If there is an issue, you will be contacted by the Supervisor of Elections and have the opportunity to correct this with an affidavit. 

Do you remember the hanging chads in Florida in 2000? We do, and we know that all ballots, both those cast in person and by Mail will be closely looked at in this election. The Vote by Mail process is a very good way to BE SURE your vote is counted.

Request a Ballot, or Check Your Status 

Before you can Vote by Mail, you must be sure that you are scheduled to receive a ballot. We ask that you check your Vote by Mail status. The easiest way to know if you will receive a ballot is to be sure you received a ballot for the August 20 th primary. If you did, then you will receive one soon for the November 5 th election. The next thing we ask of you is to check with all of your friends and family. Encourage them to Vote by Mail and if they plan to use that method, make sure they received a ballot for the primary. If you or a friend is unsure if they are registered to vote by mail they can use the link below to check on their voter status, to register to vote, or to request a Vote by Mail Ballot. 

Click on this link

New laws passed in Florida require voters who wish to request a vote-by-mail ballot to do so after every election cycle. The new law requires that every voter who requested a vote-by- mail ballot before November 8, 2022 must do so again if they wish to receive their mail ballots for the 2024 general election. If you are not registered to Vote by Mail you must request a ballot by the deadline which is 5 P.M. October 24. But why wait? Check on your status or request your ballot now.

Help Ensure Vote Counts

You can help be sure that all ballots are fairly reviewed and counted. Volunteers are needed to Cure Ballots. That is the process of reviewing every mailed in ballot, looking for any issues and notifying voters and assisting them as they correct issues. You can find a link to volunteer for this process on the Florida for Kamala official site on mobilize.

We had a wonderful Summer of Heat: Gainesville Event and Social on July 13th. It was a huge success and everyone learned something new, meet someone new and had an enjoyable and productive couple of hours on Saturday morning. We hope to get together like this often and in other parts of the State. Stay tuned for future event notices.

This article describes what we did and what we can continue to do to make a difference for future generations to change the trajectory of the impending climate disaster and reduce the threats to our democracy.

First, and foremast I want to thank our informative and inspirational Speakers:

• Mary Alford, PE, Alachua County Commission Chairperson,
• David Hastings, Sierra Club Environmental Scientist
• David Arreola, Former Gainesville City Commissioner and candidate for the Florida House

These individuals gave us their time and wisdom to make our efforts more productive and gratifying. It is comforting to know that we have people like these to count on with sound policy and science. David Hastings’ presentation, Florida Energy Rebates can be attained by contacting us at ThirdACTFL@gmail.com.

Thanks should also go to the Alachua County Library branch staff on Tower Road. They were always professional and ready and willing to help make our event run smoothly and comfortably.

And of course, we could not have staged such an event without the diligence and thoughtfulness of our photographer, Ann Stalvey, and our Event Committee members, Russell and Sharon Smith and my co-host, Ellen Seigel. Without their hard work the event would have been less effective, interesting and fun!

Beside getting educated by our speakers about the thangs Alachua County is doing, what IRA funding coming to Florida can do, and how your voice can be more effective with respect to policy making and changes, we also addressed postcards to 400 “Non-Voting Environmentalists”. Your effort is part of over 300 like efforts around the State that are trying to influence the 600,000 NVE individuals in Florida to ‘just exercise their right to vote’! Congratulations! To learn more about the Environmental Voter Project and this endeavor go to Green Voters in Red States (https://www.environmentalvoter.org)

The event was developed to support activities others are engaged in on Wall Street this summer. Hence the Summer of Heat event theme. One way we support them is to post photos from our event, and similar events around the country, to certain social media sites so our colleagues, friends and followers can see that we really (I mean REALLY) care about the destruction being done to our climate, atmosphere and the ability to live on this, our one and only, planet.

Finally, if you wish to stay engaged with both Third Act Florida and CLEO, please become a member so we can keep you in the loop with all the activities and actions we are doing in the local community and more broadly. Sign up for TA at

Join – Florida (thirdact.org)  and CLEO at the CLEO email list and action alerts.

1. Start by checking your voter registration and ensure that you are registered for Vote by Mail. Recent acts by the Florida legislature have knocked some qualified voters off of the rolls. Voters are also now required to request Vote by Mail ballots for each election. Older voters are one of the largest groups using Vote by Mail as some retired folks have difficulties with transportation, or standing in long lines. Make sure that you, your friends and your family are registered for Vote by Mail.
2. Write postcards to voters who care about our environment. The Environmental Voter Project has identified over 500,000 registered voters in Florida that are members of environmental groups, yet rarely voted. We will partner with EVP to reach out to those voters. Watch our Facebook page and read our newsletter, to learn how to join us.
3. Follow us at – https://www.facebook.com/ThirdActFlorida/ . Our page features our work, and efforts by other affiliated groups across the nation.
4. If you are a member, don’t miss news, or invites due to our mailings being identified as spam. Check your junk file and mark our emails as not junk so that you keep notified of important and fun activities.

Lastly, we have an ask. We would love to have your home address. This will allow us to use snail mail to send you items like brochures and flyers for you to use or share. Email your home address to us at ThirdActFl@gmail.com and we will send you a brochure and a fun Third Act pin.

The time is NOW to get involved as we approach a crucial election and prepare for a storm season intensified by climate changes. Together we can be the force for positive change. We are glad you are with us.

Mara V., Communications Lead