Taking refuge in the shadow of the Little Haiti Cultural Complex, a group of women sits next to a cooler chest full of ice and soft drinks. It鈥檚 90 degrees outside, with a 鈥渇eels like鈥� temperature of 105, but the women are chatting casually. Each is wearing a T-shirt for a different candidate in this month鈥檚 Primary Election.
These women are campaign workers 鈥� tasked by separate local candidates to hand out flyers and convince folks walking into the polls during early voting to pick their patron.
The heat and the lack of foot traffic at the Little Haiti polling place has brought the women together, even though they work for different campaigns.
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鈥淲e are a group of four here and really, it's like family. I didn't know any of these people when I got here but they all were so friendly. We're like peas in a bag,鈥� Barbara Allen told SA国际传谋 on Tuesday.
This is the first campaign Allen has worked on. She鈥檚 campaigning for her brother, Rickey Mitchell, who鈥檚 running for Miami-Dade County Sheriff.
The heat has been an issue for Allen, who said she鈥檇 do anything for her brother and will continue to be out campaigning for another week.
鈥淚t's been fine, but this heat is very hard out here. I can't take heat,鈥� she said. "But we have everything right here for us, our waters, our juice and our refreshments. God is good."
At that last remark, the other campaign workers respond in chorus: "All the time."
Record heat
This summer has seen in South Florida. The past few years have been some of the hottest on record, and workers in outdoors spaces have been particularly at risk for .
In the middle of an election cycle, poll workers and campaign personnel are exposed to the dangerous temperatures as they try to help or persuade incoming voters at outdoor polling stations like the Little Haiti Cultural Complex.
Still, the women are determined to make it through the primary.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been very hot. The sun is killing me, but it鈥檚 okay. I鈥檓 a fighter,鈥� said Debra Yearby, who鈥檚 campaigning for Audrey Edmonson for the Miami-Dade County Commission.
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Caroline Brown has been campaigning in Little Haiti for close to two weeks. It鈥檚 been slow. Only a little over 400 people have cast ballots there during early voting at the time of writing. On Tuesday, .
Low turnout and the temperature haven鈥檛 deterred Brown, however, who takes her lunch with Yearby and the other women under the shade of an awning when she鈥檚 not handing out flyers for Marion K. Brown (no relation), who is running for the same county commission seat as Audrey Edmonson.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the way I was raised. My momma always said help one another and another will help you, so I don鈥檛 mind helping people. Helping Marion and helping voters know where to vote,鈥� she said.
Early voting for the August Primary Election runs through Sunday, Aug. 18. Election day is Tuesday, Aug. 20. Voters can find their and a list of on the .
