Early voting in Florida is set to get started on Monday, and the Small Business Administration says it is out of money to help businesses reeling from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
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Early voting set to begin Monday in Florida
Central Florida Early Voting
Residents of Central Florida looking to avoid potentially long lines at their polling places can take part in early voting, which will be open beginning Oct. 21. Check with your county elections office for locations near you.
- Brevard County early voting opens Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 2. Offices are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Flagler County early voting opens Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 2. with offices open from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m.
- Lake County early voting begins Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 2. Offices will be open from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m.
- Marion County early voting begins Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 2. Offices are open from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m.
- Orange County early voting starts Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 2. Offices are open from 8 a.m. through 8 p.m. daily.
- Osceola County early voting begins Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 2. Offices open from 8 a.m. through 8 p.m.
- Seminole County early voting begins Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 2. Offices will open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
- Sumter County early voting begins Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 2. Offices open at 9 a.m. and close at 6 p.m.
- Volusia County early voting begins Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 2. Offices open at 8 a.m. and close at 6 p.m.
Tampa Bay Early Voting
Residents of Tampa Bay looking to avoid potentially long lines at their polling places can take part in early voting, which will be open beginning Oct. 21. Check with your county elections office for locations near you.
- Hillsborough County early voting opens Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 3. Offices are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Pinellas County early voting opens Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 3. with offices open from 7 a.m. through 7 p.m.
- Pasco County early voting begins Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 2. Offices will be open from 7 a.m. through 7 p.m.
- Polk County early voting begins Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 3. Offices are open from 7 a.m. through 7 p.m.
- Manatee County early voting starts Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 2. Offices are open from 8:30 a.m. through 6:30 p.m. daily.
- Osceola County early voting begins Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 2. Offices open from 8 a.m. through 8 p.m.
- Hernando County early voting begins Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 2. Offices will open at 8 a.m. and close at 6 p.m.
- Citrus County early voting begins Oct. 21, and ends Nov. 2. Offices open at 8:30 a.m. and close at 6 p.m.
Small business disaster loan program is out of money until Congress approves new funds
The Small Business Administration says it has run out of money for the disaster assistance loans it offers small businesses, homeowners and renters, delaying much needed relief for people applying for aid in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to businesses and people affected by disasters. The SBA warned earlier this month that it could run out of funding, given the anticipated surge in claims from Hurricane Helene, without additional funding from Congress.
There are other disaster relief programs still available, including assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. The FEMA aid isn’t affected by the SBA shortfall.
Helene was a Category 4 storm that first struck Florida’s Gulf Coast on Sept. 26. The storm dumped trillions of gallons of rain and left a trail of destruction for hundreds of miles across several states. Hurricane Milton swept across Florida two weeks later.
So far, the SBA has received around 37,000 applications for relief from those impacted by Hurricane Helene and made more than 700 loan offers totaling about $48 million. It has received 12,000 applications from those impacted by Hurricane Milton.
The SBA is pausing new loan offers until it gets more funding, which means loans that have not already been offered will be delayed by at least a month. SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said people should keep applying for the loans, however.
“We know that swift financial relief can help communities recover quickly to stabilize local economies.” Guzman said in a statement. She added that the SBA will continue to process applications so assistance can be quickly disbursed once funds are replenished.
The SBA said it could also be able to make a small number of new loan offers during this time if it gets more funds from loan cancellations or similar actions.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said there would be strong support to provide necessary funds when Congress returns after the November election.
“There’s no question these devastating back-to-back storms have stressed the SBA funding program,” Johnson, a Republican, said in a statement. “But the Biden-Harris Administration has the necessary disaster funding right now to address the immediate needs of American people in these hurricane affected areas.”
The speaker has declined to recall lawmakers back to Washington to vote on aid in the aftermath of deadly hurricanes and declined to do so now. He said Congress is tracking this situation closely.
“When Members return in just a few short weeks, the Administration should have an accurate assessment of the actual dollar amount needed and there will be strong bipartisan support to provide the necessary funding,” he said.
The SBA offers two different types of disaster loans. Business physical disaster loans are for repairing or replacing disaster-damaged property, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment. Economic injury disaster loans are working capital loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, non-profit organizations meet financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of a disaster.
Businesses can access loans up to $2 million, with interest rates as low as 4% for businesses and 3.25% for nonprofit organizations.
The SBA also offers disaster loans up to $500,000 to homeowners to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $100,000 to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed personal property.
FEMA’s disaster relief fund is a pot of money the agency uses to respond to disasters. The money pays for things like refunding state and local officials for debris removal and rebuilding public infrastructure damaged by disasters. FEMA also gives disaster survivors money for things like rent while their homes are uninhabitable or for emergency needs like diapers.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell has repeatedly said that the disaster relief fund has enough money to respond to Helene and Milton. But Criswell has said that the agency eventually will need supplemental funding from Congress.
If that doesn’t happen, she said the agency would go into what’s called “immediate needs funding,” which means the agency stops paying out for previous disasters and conserves its money for life-saving missions during any new ones.
For more details about all aid programs the government offers, click here.
Judge unseals nearly 2,000 pages of redacted evidence in Trump 2020 election case
The federal judge overseeing the case accusing former President Donald Trump of working to overturn the 2020 election released hundreds of pages of heavily redacted evidence gathered by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith.
Many of the documents released Friday — in four volumes — have been made public already.
The first volume has excerpts from interviews conducted by the now-disbanded House Select Committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The second contains social media posts from Trump and his allies that relate to baseless claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election and Jan. 6, including some posted during the attack — like his remark that Vice President Mike Pence “didn’t have the courage” to reject the results of the 2020 election.
The third includes a myriad of documents, including highlighted pages from Pence’s 2022 autobiography “So Help Me God” and the transcript of Trump’s 2021 phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which he urged the Republican election official to “find 11,780 votes,” enough to overturn his loss to Joe Biden in the state. It also includes photos of signed fake elector certificates, part of an effort by Trump to cling to power.
The fourth contains, among other documents, memos from conservative attorney John Eastman detailing his proposal for Pence to reject the results of the election on Jan. 6, 2021.
The release of the documents came one day after District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected Trump’s request to delay them. She ordered the documents to be unsealed last week, but delayed the release to give Trump’s attorneys time to appeal her ruling.
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