SARASOTA COUNTY (WSNN) – How far would you travel to vote? Maybe 1200 miles?
“It’s the craziest thing that I’ve ever done while making these calls to get out and vote,” African American Cultural Coalition President, Vickie Oldham said.
“I feel completely blessed, honestly,” Sarasota voter who flew from New York to Vote, Octavia Saenz said.
Ringling College graduate Saenz took an internship in New York, but still resides in Sarasota. She requested a mail-in-ballot but never received it.
When SNN reached out to the Sarasota Supervisor of Elections Office, they responded saying, “We sent the voter’s vote-by-mail ballot in the first vote-by-mail ballot domestic mailing on September 24, 20 to the voter’s Sarasota address. Ballots are not forwardable.”
But, it was a vote so important, the African American Cultural Coalition President, Vickie Oldham, flew a stranger across the country to make her voice heard.
“$120 to vote in the most consequential election of my lifetime, that is nothing, that’s was the moment when I said, we’re going to get this done,” Oldham said.
It was a quick turnaround from their Sunday night phone call to Election Day.
“Our Community always kind of helps with chipping in and helping each other, that’s what community is all about,” Oldham said. “So the people that I called said, ‘yea, I’ll give you 20, and then another said, ‘yea, I’ll give you 20.’”
One thing led to another and Saenz cast her vote.
“It means everything to me because I was feeling so guilty about not being able to vote,” Saenz said. “It’s really important to me to make my voice heard.”
Saenz wasn’t the only one flying to cast her vote.
Chantal Bourdeau tried sending her son, Baruch Bourdeau’s ballot to Georgia, but it never made it to him on time.
“Since September 30th, they’ve not delivered it to him, even though it was sent to via certified mail-returned-receipt,” Chantal Bourdeau said.
She started a fundraiser to pay for the overnight flight allowing him to vote on Election Day.
“The total trip cost about $700. So this is the most expensive vote I think that’s been made in the US today,” Chantal said. “And I think it’s unfair, it’s like the Black Tax as far as I’m concerned.”
“The whole atmosphere of this year has been like, we have to do something,” Saenz said.
