CARIBBEAN TODAY n e WS LWW-crbbatoa.co 'Jerk' lovers savor the flavor at annual Florida fest DAMIAN P. GREGORY you feel like you home," Jamaican-born Nicole SUNRISE, Florida Lovers of Grayton, a resident of Fort everything "jerk" converged Lauderdale who has attended on Markham Park in South the festival each of the past Florida late last month to three years, told Caribbean sample food prepared by Today. "It is a part of my cul- cooks from Jamaica and the ture, you know." United States. "You got a piece of "When you come here Jamaica right here," Fort Lauderdale resident Angela Election dates and voter registration information General elections in the United States will be held on Nov. 7. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. The date marks the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, in even numbered years, and is designated to fill it national, state and county offices, and for voting on constitution- al amendments and local referendums. Voters may cast their ballots for the candi- dates of any party, regardless of their own - political party registra- tion. At general elections, all voters receive the same ballot and may vote for any candi- date or question on the ballot. Who can register to vote To register to vote in Florida, you must: Be a United States citizen, a Florida resident, at least 18 years old (you may pre-register if you are 17), not now be adjudicated mentally incapaci- tated with respect to voting in Florida or any other state, not have been convicted of a felony in Florida, or any other state, without your civil rights having been restored, and not claim the right to vote in another county or state. Who can't register to vote Persons who have been found by a court in any state to be mentally incapacitated with respect to voting and who have not had their right restored. Persons who have been convicted of any felony in any court and who have not had their right to vote restored. Any person who is not a citi- zen of the U.S. How to register to vote Completely fill out a voter registration application form. Voter registration applications are available at local Supervisor of Elections' offices, the Division of Elections, driver license offices, state agencies that provide public assistance, libraries and many other loca- tions. A voter's registration applica- tion is complete if it contains: Your name, legal residence s Your ...how hanlt^Sht? address and date of birth; an indication that you are a U.S. citizen; the last four digits of your Social Security number. An indication that you have not been convicted of a felony or that, if convicted, you have had your civil rights restored. An indication that you have not been adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect to voting or that, if so adjudicated, you have had your right to vote resorted. You must sign the oath printed on the form swearing or affirming under the penalty for false swearing that the information contained in the registration application is true. Note: An applicant who fails to designate a political party affiliation will be registered without party affiliation. The voter registration application is also available online at www.socadvote.com When to register to vote You must be registered for at least 29 days before you can vote in an election. The date your voter registration applica- tion is postmarked or hand delivered to your county supervisor of elections will be your registration date. If your application is complete and you are qualified as a voter, a registration identification card will be mailed to you. 0 Ihis young lady definitely found the jerk ribs to her liking. Clarke, told Caribbean Today. "It was all good, the chicken and lobster and the pork." But her friend, who would only identify himself as Ricky, had a definite favorite. "The pork," he told Caribbean Today enthusiasti- cally. "It really great. I like how they do it, the set up is the real thing, like they have back home." WIDE POPULARITY The annual feeding fest not only attracted those from Jamaica, but other fans of the spicy food that is becoming more well known outside of the islands. "I am eating jerk pork," said first time festivalgoer Theresa Caine, a Chicago native who now lives in Fort Lauderdale and is a self- described Jamaican by injec- tion. "I am not mad at it." She was among an esti- mated 7,500 people who, organizers said, attended the nine-hour event on Sept. 24. Some 22 vendors who offered variations on the popular spiced food that included the traditional chicken, pork, fish and ribs and the non-tra- ditional jerk ice cream. Yet food was not the only thing that kept the crowd enter- trained. Music headliners Byron Lee and the Dragonaires were also on hand. WINNER But one man cornered the judges' idea of what it means to be the king of jerk. For the third time in the popular festi- val's five-year history, the "Gold Dutch Pot Award" went to Burnet Spence. Spence, an amateur cook who hails from St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, left judges wanting more of his savory jerk. "His presentation and taste were far superior to the others," organizer of the jerk cook-off contest, June Minto told Caribbean Today. Spence's secret? "I have a layered taste, when you first bite into my chicken or my pork, you get a sweet smoky (taste) as you bite," he told Caribbean Today. "As you go further in, it gets a little spicy, not too hot. As you go further in you taste the pimento. As you begin to digest it with the saliva the combination of all three gives you a lingering taste that makes you want more." Story and photograph by Damian P. Gregory, Caribbean Today's deputy managing editor. 0 Profile of candidates in Florida counties Check the following websites to learn about the candidates: Miami-Dade http://elections.miamidade.gov/ Broward http://www.browardsoe.org/elec- tioncandidates.aspx?eid=5 Palm Beach http://www.pbcelections.org/Electio nCandidates.aspx?eid=l Newspaper Candidate Profiles and Endorsements Hov% Qualified electors are permit- ted to vote absentee under Florida law. How to vote absentee An elector, or someone desig- nated by the elector, may request an absentee ballot from the supervisor of elec- tions in person, by mail or by telephone. One request can cover all elections within a calendar year. The person requesting an absentee ballot The Miami Herald http://www.miami.com/mld/miami- herald/news/photos/15326047.htm Sun Sentinel http://www.sun- sentinel.com/news/elections/ Palm Beach Post http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opi nion/content/localnews/election/en dorsements_2006.html Bar Association Judicial Review and Endorsements Judicial Poll http://www.dadecountybar.org/nss- folder/2006judicialpoll/2006%20JU DICIAL%20POLL%20RESULTS .pdf Wilke D. Ferguson Bar Association Endorsements (Miami-Dade County Black Lawyers Association) Go to www.fergusonbar.org and request listing for further review and research. Dade County Bar Association ito vote absentee must disclose: the name and address of the elector for whom the ballot is requested; the requester's name and address; the requester's driver license number, if available; the requester's relationship to the elector; and the requester's signature (written request only). Marked ballots must be mailed or delivered in person reaching the supervisor of elections' office not later than 7 p.m. on the day of the elec- tion. At all elections, a voter claiming to be properly regis- tered in the county and eligi- ble to vote at the precinct in the election, but whose eligi- bility cannot be determined, shall be entitled to vote a pro- visional ballot. 0 October 2006