One Week Left To Register, Five Weeks Til Midterms


We're less than a week out from the deadline to register to vote and the crucially important midterm elections are just five weeks away. You can check your registration and polling place and see a sample ballot by visiting the Supervisor of Elections website for your county: DUVAL l ST. JOHNS l CLAY l NASSAU l FLAGLER l PUTNAM l BAKER

Turnout will be key to saving our democracy, so we all need to make a plan to vote and encourage others to make a plan. The League of Women Voters' Vote411.org site has tons of information and ways to help get out the vote.

Key Midterm Election Dates:

October 5 - deadline to register to vote in the midterms *Please double check you're registered!*

October 22 - deadline to request a Vote-by-Mail ballot

October 20 - November 1 - early voting in Duval County

November 3 - ELECTION DAY 🗳️

Northeast Florida has so many outstanding candidates running for local, state and federal offices this election. Please see below for Jax NOW PAC's recommendations and endorsements for the midterms.

Jax NOW PAC Recommendations:

U.S. Senate: Jax NOW PAC proudly recommends Angie Nixon

U.S. House: We recommend Gay Valimont (District 1), L.J. Holloway (District 4), Rachel Grage (District 5), and Eric Yonce (District 6).

Jax NOW PAC Endorsements:

Florida Governor/Lt. Governor: David Jolly & Gwen Graham

Florida Attorney General: José Javier Rodriguez (JJR)

Florida CFO: Annette Taddeo

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture & Consumer Services: Joey Mendoza Atkins

Florida Senate: Jason Bellamy-Fults for the Florida Senate (District 6)

Florida House: Benjamin Sandlin (District 12), Chadd Charland (District 15), Jacob Guerrero (District 17), Art Stresing (District 18), and Suzanna Pavelle (District 19)

Duval County Judge: Melina Buncome for Group 13

Duval County School Board: Donna Westrich (District 2), Rhodesia Butler (District 4)

St. Johns County School Board: Jillian Tozer (District 4)

🚨 ALERT: We recommend voting NO on Amendments 1, 2, and 3 (our October meeting will focus on these.) We recommend voting YES on the 1-mill tax renewal referendum for teacher pay in Duval County.

If you're tired of the indifference and inaction of many of our elected officials and the corruption from DeSantis appointees (read earlier story here), then this is your chance to elect public servants who actually want to make life better for Floridians. Please visit candidates' websites (names linked above) to learn more about them and their platforms. If you want to help support all of these amazing candidates, please consider contributing to the Jax NOW Political Action Committee (PAC).

🎬 ACTION: Please do whatever you can over the next week to support voter registration efforts and over the next five weeks to support the candidates running to make life better for all Floridians, not just their rich donors. Check out Mobilize for opportunities to canvas, phone bank, postcard and more.

🎬 ACTION: VOTE and help Get Out The Vote (GOTV)! Trump and his cronies are planning to "cheat like hell," so we need to turn out in huge numbers to take our country back. Help organizations working to educate voters and GOTV in Florida, including:

VoteRiders - provides voter ID assistance so that every American can cast a ballot that counts

Spread The Vote - helps get IDs 365 days of the year so voters can go to the polls

The League of Women Voters of Florida - empowering Floridians to defend democracy

All Voting Is Local (Florida) - works with local and state elections officials to improve voter access and and advocate for more access to early voting, vote by mail, and drop boxes.

Florida Rising Together - working to increase the voting and political power of marginalized and excluded constituencies

Common Cause Florida - holding power accountable

ACLU Florida - 2026 Florida Voter Hub

Legal Defense Fund – Prepared to Vote Campaign

Join Us Thursday for Meet & Greet with Rachel Grage

Join Jax NOW members hosting this fun, informative event with Rachel Grage, candidate for U.S. Congress (District 5), this Thursday, October 1 at Grey Matter Distillery in Mayport. Unlike her opponent, John Rutherford, Rachel isn't afraid to meet with constituents from her district.

This is a great opportunity to meet and ask questions of Rachel in a fun atmosphere with delicious cocktails/mocktails and snacks. Feel free to bring your family, friends and neighbors. Please RSVP to Judy Sheklin via email.

Hope to see you there!

Meet Jax NOW's Leadership Team

We are so lucky to have an amazing group of hard-working, talented individuals who have volunteered to lead the Jacksonville chapter of the National Organization for Women - Jax NOW.

Jax NOW's Leadership team (meet them here) includes officers Kim Elmore (President), Gale Chisholm (Secretary), and Bobbie Nord (Treasurer), as well as eight committee chairs who focus on a range of topics important to achieving and protecting the equal rights of women and girls in all aspects of social, political and economic life.

We are pleased to welcome John Louis Meeks, Jr. as Jax NOW's new Education Chair. A former Air Force medic and UNF graduate, Meeks has been teaching social studies in Duval County since 2002. He currently serves as a union steward, Teacher First Vice President of Duval Teachers United, North Florida Central Labor Council Delegate and on the Florida Education Association Governance Board.  

For the past 20 years, Meeks has represented Duval County at state and national conventions, drafting and passing resolutions related to human rights. An education advocate, he has collaborated with educators from around the nation in the Network for Public Education's 2015 report, "Teachers Talk Back: Educators on the Impact of Teacher Evaluation," and he has been published in The Florida Times-Union, Folio Magazine, The Beaches Leader, and Clay Today.

"Solidarity is a way of life," said Meeks, "and I believe in promoting solidarity through coalition building and mutual aid. A better world is possible." We are so happy to have John join as the newest member of the Jax NOW Leadership team and we look forward to his insight on important education issues.

Jax NOW Meeting 10/14: Understanding Amendments on Your Ballot

Jax NOW's October meeting will be held virtually and will focus on the three property tax amendments Floridians will vote on this November. We will be joined by president, Rhona diCamillo, and immediate past president, Lanelle Phillmon, of the League of Women Voters of Jacksonville First Coast, as they help us understand the substance of each proposed amendment and what's at stake for our communities.

Please RSVP to receive the meeting Zoom link and plan to join us from 6:30 to 8:00 pm on Wednesday, October 14 for this informative and engaging discussion and Q&A.

Candidate Conversations: The Future of Our City & Schools

Also on Wednesday, October 14 you are invited to join an in-person conversation with both Katie Hathaway, candidate for Jax City Council At-Large, Group 2, and Donna Westrich, candidate for Duval County School Board, District 2, as they discuss the future of our city and our schools.

This is a great opportunity to meet and ask questions of both of these amazing candidates as they share why they are running to help make our communities better for all. Feel free to bring your friends and neighbors and join us at 1600 Park Terrace West in Atlantic Beach from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.