PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (WINK) \u2014 In Punta Gorda, there\u2019s a pair of red boots that needs no introduction.<\/p>\n
They belong to Flo Winters, a longtime community volunteer and election worker whose patriotic wardrobe and infectious enthusiasm have made her a familiar face at the polls.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019ve ever voted in Punta Gorda, whether it\u2019s at the event center or dropped your ballot off at my office, you know Flo,\u201d Charlotte County Supervisor of Elections Leah Valenti said. \u201cEveryone knows Red Boots.\u201d<\/p>\n
Winters wears her signature bright red boots and American flag dress with pride. But her colorful wardrobe isn\u2019t the only reason voters remember her.<\/p>\n
Valenti said several voters have gone out of their way to compliment the woman who helped them navigate the voting process.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few voters thanked me for what an amazing experience they had,\u201d Valenti said. \u201cThey said, well, there was a lady outside. She had red boots on, and she was so helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Winters, making voters feel welcome is all part of the job.<\/p>\n
She helps keep lines moving, reminds voters to have their identification ready and tries to make what can sometimes be a stressful experience a little more enjoyable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI make sure that they are calm and happy because voting is a happy time,\u201d Winters said.<\/p>\n
And she makes sure voters leave with a little souvenir: an \u201cI Voted\u201d sticker.<\/p>\n
But Winters\u2019 passion for serving others goes back long before she started working elections.<\/p>\n
She said she grew up in a family with a strong tradition of military and community service, with her mother instilling the importance of giving back at an early age.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy family, probably 75% of my family were service in all forces of the service,\u201d Winters said. \u201cMy mother instilled it in us, and I just grew up that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 71 years young, she\u2019s still following her mother\u2019s example.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m retired, but this is my job,\u201d Winters said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a job she takes seriously, even if she believes the experience should be enjoyable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is our right and it\u2019s our privilege, and when you vote, it\u2019s like an honor,\u201d Winters said. \u201cWe\u2019re serving our country, voting. No matter who you vote for, it should be fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
And while she\u2019s become something of a local celebrity, Winters doesn\u2019t see herself that way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t think I\u2019m special,\u201d she said. \u201cI think I\u2019m just one of a lot of people that care about our county.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, those red boots have left quite an impression on Charlotte County voters.<\/p>\n
And Winters has no plans to take them off anytime soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still have more to do,\u201d she said. \u201cI will do it until I die because it\u2019s what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charlotte County seeing strong voter participation ahead of Election Day<\/p>\n
Winters will be back helping voters Tuesday, Nov. 3, as Charlotte County prepares for Election Day.<\/p>\n
Valenti said voter participation has been encouraging, with more than 5,000 additional voters participating this election cycle compared with the 2022 midterm election, according to figures she shared Monday.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She said the county had already reached slightly more than 45% turnout, with an approximately 85% return rate among voters who requested mail ballots.<\/p>\n
Valenti also said early voting participation has exceeded the last midterm election, and she hopes that momentum continues Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters planning to cast their ballots in person on Election Day must report to their assigned polling precinct.<\/p>\n
And if you\u2019re voting in Punta Gorda, keep an eye out for those red boots.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (WINK) \u2014 In Punta Gorda, there\u2019s a pair of red boots that needs no introduction.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445691,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210,4250,115],"class_list":["post-445690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news","tag-charlotte","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}