Rattler students help Obama win Florida despite Scott’s voter suppression initiatives

FAMU students celebrate Obama's reelection in the Tookes Recreation Center during election night.

Gov. Rick Scott attempted to suppress voter turnout in the 2012 presidential election by signing legislation to shorten the early voting period from 14 days to eight days and using a questionable purge list. He also authorized new restrictions on third-party registration groups which were blocked by the federal courts.

But despite the efforts of a governor who used dirty tricks to try and keep Democratic voters away from the polls, U.S. President Barack Obama picked up Florida’s 29 Electoral College votes in the 2012 election. Obama received 4,235,270 votes in the Sunshine State to Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s 4,162,081.

FAMU’s Grand Ballroom precinct, in which most registered voters are students in on-campus housing, cast 2,107 votes for Obama. Romney received 31 votes at the Grand Ballroom. All in all, 75 percent of the precinct’s voters turned out.

Campus leaders such as Student Body President Marissa West rallied students to fight back against voter suppression by turning out to vote in high numbers.

“Voter suppression is at an all-time high, and we need to organize strong efforts to ensure a great turnout in the upcoming presidential election,” West said while urging students to participate in a voter registration drive back in September.