Elections:
Hale Morrissette wants Pensacola to treat voting like the Super Bowl: a day to show up, dance and ride together to the polls.
VoteNik, a daylong early voting festival, will take over 1918 W. Cervantes St. on Sunday, Oct. 25, from noon to 5 p.m. Community activist, DJ and mental health counselor Hale Morrissette is organizing the event, and she says it is meant to be the biggest early voting party the city has seen.
- Morrissette joined me on the podcast to explain the idea. The name comes from Freaknik, the big Atlanta festival. She wants a party that gets people out, gets them on the buses and gets them voting.
“Come after church. If you didn’t go to church, come church with us.”
What to expect. Local artists from every genre will perform, and DJs will run the show. Morrissette asks everyone to bring chairs, picnic blankets and tablecloths. Local vendors will be on site, and she says she always wants to pour back into local businesses.
The finale of her summer. Morrissette has been hosting block parties since the summer began. VoteNik is the culmination of that season.
Why early voting matters here. Early voters are not tied to a single precinct. That means organizers can run buses and vans to a few convenient sites. Morrissette says shuttles will connect the event with Downtown, the Brownsville Community Center and other nearby locations.
What drives her. Morrissette says it starts with her kids. She is a Pensacola native raising Pensacola kids, and she wants the community to be better for them. She says she votes for the people who believe Florida can be for everyone who lives here.
To learn more, visit lifeishale.com.
