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Jemele Hill has trouble voting in Florida after tweeting about her move to California
Jemele Hill had some trouble voting in Florida after tweeting about her move to California. (Jerod Harris/Getty Images)

Jemele Hill has trouble voting in Florida after tweeting about her move to California

Jemele Hill, formerly of ESPN and currently a staff writer for The Atlantic, had some trouble casting her vote in Florida  -- and it appears her tweet about moving to California may have caused it, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Hill has owned a home in Florida since 2006 despite moving around the country over the years for her career. But when she got to the polling site, her name was not on the voter roll. An elections official told her later the same day that her Oct. 21 tweet about flying back to Florida from California to vote was flagged.

Hill wrote about her experience for The Atlantic, and Orange County elections supervisor Bill Cowles confirmed her story's accuracy. Hill was allowed to vote on a provisional ballot; and it was one of 86 provisional ballots that were accepted out of the 420 filed in the county.

Was she targeted for her politics?

Hill believes she was targeted by someone because of her past conflict with President Donald Trump and her public support of Florida Democratic governor candidate Andrew Gillum.

"I'm guessing that had I tweeted support for Gillum's challenger, Ron DeSantis, no one would have questioned my right to vote in Florida," Hill wrote. "Also in the back of my mind was the dust-up I'd had with the president last year. I'm not accusing Donald Trump of trying to suppress my vote, but I wouldn't put it past his ardent supporters."

Hill said she is registered as a Republican because "black Democratic voters are often targeted" in voter suppression situations.

Nicholas Shannin, a lawyer who works with the county elections supervisor's office, said "it was likely someone with a partisan opinion who had contacted the state" to flag Hill's registration.

Should she have been allowed to vote in Florida?

Florida's voter residency guidelines acknowledge that legal residency is not always cut and dry. According to the guidelines, legal residency is "where a person mentally intends to make his or her permanent residence" and can be supported by things like paying taxes in the state or receiving mail there, both of which Hill said she does in Florida.

(H/T The Hill)

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