Tuesday, Nov. 5, is the last opportunity to vote in local races such as school board members, county election supervisors and county judges, as well as state representatives, constitutional amendments and, of course, elections that will determine the next election. President of the United States.

The past year has been filled with fear and anxiety across the political spectrum. Former Republican congressman Carlos Curbelo of South Florida and former Democratic congressman Stephanie Murphy of Orlando discussed these concerns with Tom Hudson. Florida Summary.

Fear and anxiety about who will win

Curbelo said there are many reasons why tensions have increased during this election season.

“I think this is the first election in a long time where there is no consensus expectation of who will win. Looking back at 2020, there was consensus in some polls showing President Biden would win. In 2016, Hillary Clinton was expected to win. “Now that didn’t happen, but before the election people were pretty confident about that outcome.”

“So this is the first election since maybe 2000 where we don’t really know what’s going to happen. Another reason why there is so much concern is that politics has become so important in people’s lives. “This has almost become a matter of life and death.”

Political polls were conducted everywhere and Survey experts explainedit’s actually less about predicting outcomes and more about capturing snapshots of public opinion at specific times.

We trust the election process

Murphy said one of the reasons it’s so easy to spread misinformation is because each state counts ballots and reports the results differently.

“So it’s easy for someone in one state to look at another and say, ‘Hey, that doesn’t look quite right.’ Is this fair? Or is someone cheating?’ ” said Murphy. “That’s essentially the way the state runs elections. Therefore, I think it is important to be patient in the process.”

READ MORE: ‘Our Changing State’ Vote 24: When will we learn the election results?

He said the other piece missing in politics today is trust in the system.

“There is a system in place where if the race is close, candidates have the opportunity to ask for a recount,” Murphy said. “There is a process through the judicial system. If someone thinks foul play has been committed, they can appeal to the courts and the courts can decide. But when all of those avenues are followed and closed, I think we as Americans have to accept the outcome, whether our candidate wins or not.”

Social media was also flooded voter fraud accusationsSome of these are said to have been instigated by some lawmakers and former President Donald Trump. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis calls abortion rights activists forge signatures Dead people or people who don’t support abortion petitioning to get Amendment 4 on the ballot in November.

“In this election, we have already seen a number of examples of different agents and individuals attempting to spread lies on social media about ballot tampering or manipulation. These have all been disproven,” Curbelo said.

The claims have real-world consequences. Hundreds of ballot papers were destroyed or damaged Last week, fire broke out at ballot boxes in Oregon, Washington and Arizona.

A Florida man was also arrested and charged with a felony after police said he said so. He threatened two Kamala Harris supporters with a machete While campaigning outside an early voting site in Florida.

Curbelo also said what helps foster trust is accepting people for who they are and not demonizing each other because of differing political views.

What can I do other than vote?

“Frankly, the most important thing we can do in a democracy is vote, and there are other ways that citizens can share their views,” Curbelo said, pointing to calls from listeners on his “Florida Roundup” live show.

“Of course there is social media. “You can talk to your friends and neighbors so we won’t be helpless against candidates or individuals we perceive as dangerous or a threat to democracy.”

‘Symptom of a sick society’

If someone feels they are under legitimate threat during a political debate or interaction with someone, they should call local authorities, Curbelo said. But safety concerns aside, he said people need to learn to be less polarizing in how they view people with different political views.

“We have become a more violent society. “People don’t see each other as enemies or having different views. They see each other as good or bad depending on their political positions. And that’s very, very unhealthy. It’s a symptom of a sick society,” Curbelo said.

Responding to a caller who compared Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, Culbero warned voters about how they criticize their political opponents.

“It is fair to say that Donald Trump attacked our democratic institutions, and there is a long record reflecting that. “I think comparing him to Adolf Hitler goes too far, is counterproductive and damaging to our national discourse,” Curbelo said.

moving forward together

Curbelo and Murphy both work now Central Corridor Coalitionan organization that claims to be a “beacon of hope and unity” in “an age of extreme partisanship.”

“It’s clear that the country is divided, and that’s why we take our work with the Central Corridor Coalition so seriously, because we need to heal. We need to close this gap, and if that is going to happen, we need civil society with organizations and groups that are ready and empowered to do it,” Curbelo said.

Murphy pointed out that we all need to live with each other, regardless of who wins the vote for president and who gets the vote at the state, county and city level.

“What you can say on the other side of this election is that no matter who wins, your relationship with these people is still a person-to-person, friend-to-friend, American-to-American relationship…and we will move forward together because there really is no other option for us,” Murphy said.

This story was compiled from an interview Tom Hudson did for The Florida Roundup.