By J.C. Bruce
If you requested a vote-by-mail ballot for the Nov. 3 General Election, it should be on its way from your local Supervisor of Elections Office.
In some locations, you may have already received an email notifying you that it’s in the mail.
If not, give it a day or two, but if you don’t see it in your mailbox soon, it may be worth calling your local Elections Office.
Roughly a third of all Americans use vote-by-mail ballots, but you have options on how you submit them. You can, of course, mail them back to your Elections Office. Or you can drop them off in person if that feels more secure (it’s what I do). You can also deposit them at early voting sites, which by law will be opening no later than Oct. 24, although some counties extend those dates.
In the Tropic Press News2Use section, you’ll find a complete list of early voting Frequently Asked Questions. It also includes information on how to contact your Local Elections Office.
What you need to know
Three constitutional amendments are on the midterm election ballot, along with contests to choose our next governor, U.S. senator, congressional delegation, representatives and senators in the state Legislature, and other public offices.
There’s a lot at stake, not least of which, nationally, is control of Congress.
Sorting through all this can be a challenge, which is why I am directing your attention to the 2026 Voter Guide that the Florida Phoenix has just published online.
As regular readers of this newsletter know, in addition to original reporting and commentary here at Tropic Press, we’re also committed to uplifting important journalism from individual reporters and news organizations in the state.
We’re fortunate here in Florida to have several nonprofit newsrooms doing great public service reporting, and we are pleased to share stories from them, including those from the Phoenix.
Check out their helpful guide to the 2026 election here:
It is also a good idea to double-check that your voter registration is still active, as Florida has been very aggressive about purging voter rolls. You can do that online at your local elections office.
The deadline to register to vote in the General Election is Oct. 5.
That Was the Week That Was
Are our homeowners’ insurance rates fair?
A series of reports by two Florida newspapers, based on state documents, is calling that into question: property insurance companies claimed losses while funneling more than $1 billion to affiliate organizations.
Attorneys for the state demanded that the newspapers—the Orlando Sentinel and the South Florida Sun Sentinel—destroy the long-hidden reports they legally obtained, and the newspapers refused.
In fact, beyond their reporting, they posted the documents online for everyone to inspect as an act of defiance. You can read them here:
Related: News organizations publish Florida’s secret examination of insurer profits
Dems chances of winning the House improve
The highly regarded Cook Political Report says the G.O.P. is on track to lose its majority in the House of Representatives, as 15 tight races nationally have now shifted toward Democrats.
Democrats currently hold 215 seats, meaning they need to gain just three seats to take back the majority. But the realm of competitive and potentially competitive districts is fairly small. The most likely outcome at this point is that Democrats pick up five to 15 seats, resulting in Democrats holding 220 to 230 seats in 2027 — a fairly slim majority in modern U.S. history. That range could shift further in Democrats’ favor over the next five weeks if Republicans are unable to effectively stem the bleeding.
Supreme Court sides with Trump on voter database
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 6–3 decision on Friday allows the Trump administration to deploy its revamped federal database—the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program—to help states verify registered voters' citizenship status.
However, federal law limits the immediate threat of massive voter roll purges ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The majority opinion noted that the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) bans broad, systematic voter roll purges within 90 days of an election.
Still, voting rights groups are worried that naturalized citizens could be disenfranchised and that voters’ privacy rights could be violated.
DeSantis staff quietly rehired jilted lawyers who helped secure Hope Florida settlement
Just after the 2024 elections, the DeSantis administration awarded a new contract to lawyers who helped secure a legal settlement that the governor’s staff then used to fund political activities, otherwise known as the Hope Florida Scandal.
Independent investigative journalist Jason Garcia has the story, and it's posted on the Tropic Press website.
Photo of the Week
Thanks, Trump!
Quote of the Week
“I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me. You should not be here covering me. You said you weren’t going to cover me.”
—Donald Trump to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins at the U.N.
(For the record, CNN said no such thing. It was Trump who banned CNN, MSNOW and Politico from the White House, a decision that was quickly overturned in federal court, although further hearings on the matter are scheduled in the coming weeks.)
Letter of the Week
“David Jolly should take a lesson from (Alex) Vindman, deciding not to debate his primary opponent (Angie) Nixon. Refusing to debate Donalds, who he calls a liar, but not being willing to get on the stage to demonstrate his ability to dominate Donalds publicly is a huge mistake. People need to see these two guys standing up publicly, answering questions. That's how we'll take the measure of the men, not by the incessant texts and emails we get asking for money.”
—George Terranova, M.D.
(Editor’s Note: Nearly 1,100 Tropic Press readers responded to a poll question on whether Jolly should reverse his decision not to debate Donalds, and 83 percent agreed with Doctor Terranova that he should debate.)
Looking Ahead
When I’m not writing this newsletter, I also scribble a current events column for Florida Weekly. You should check it out. Here are some snippets, from there and elsewhere, to help guide your week ahead. (Paid subscribers to this newsletter have full access to the complete Onward Thru the Fog archive.)
Sept. 28. Today is the deadline for CNN, Politico, and MSNOW to file their briefs in federal court to permanently enjoin the White House from banning them. They currently have a temporary restraining order that has allowed them to return. The White House has until Oct. 2 to file its response.
Sept. 29 is Confucius Day. My favorite quote of his (also paraphrased by Bruce Wayne’s dad in Batman Begins): “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” Bruce Wayne, of course, went on to become Batman, but he never was as powerful as the Green Lantern. Which really bugged him.
Sept. 30. International Podcast Day, celebrating those daring souls who put it all out there to share their thoughts with the world, such as Florida’s newest: Jeff and Dave Save the World.
Oct. 1 is International Coffee Day. Drinking 2-4 cups of coffee a day has been associated with a reduced risk of dying from all causes, including heart disease. It also protects against Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and falling asleep on the Florida Turnpike. You can grow coffee plants in South Florida, but not in the rest of the state where it gets frosty.
Oct. 2. White House deadline to file its briefs in federal court on why it is entitled to ban several news organizations.
Last Week’s Tropic Press headlines
In case you missed it, here are some of the stories that headlined Tropic Press this past week. Click on the headlines to read the stories.
Byron Donalds is the latest Florida Republican to ghost Trump during campaign
Byron Donalds’ effort to hide from Trump backfires on social media
David Jolly, declaring ‘you can’t debate a liar,’ foregoes chance to face his gubernatorial rival
What do these pictures tell us about Donald Trump, Natalie Harp, and the Kennedy Center?
Further thoughts on why we need a strong and vibrant news media in Florida
President What’s-His-Name, who used to be on TV, now cavorts with Communists
How Casey DeSantis’ Hope Florida quietly hollowed out Florida’s safety net
How scared should we be of furries? Take the poll.
News2Use
Check out the latest section on the Tropic Press website, News2Use, a handy reference library with links to useful information sincluding election deadlines, how to contact your elected representatives, and more. It’s a construction project, and we’re adding to it on a regular basis.
Thanks for your support
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Our goal is to reach as many voters as possible, so that we can increase engagement in the political process and, hopefully, raise interest in voting this coming November.
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Thanks.
J.C. Bruce
'What you need to know' can't be said too much...THANK YOU, J.C.!
NEWS2USE link, please keep posting, THANK YOU!
2026 Voters Guide link, please keep posting, THANK YOU!
Confucius Day. My favorite quote of his is "When cutting an axe handle, the model is right there." 'Fa ke Fa ke Dao dzai naar' as I remember from third year Chinese when we studied Classical Chinese.