2020 FL Presidential Preference, Mask Use: Make Your Picks

FLORIDA — Growing concern over the coronavirus crisis and its effect on Florida hospitals will be one of several issues in November's general election on which President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden disagree significantly. Florida is a tossup state in the Nov. 3 presidential contest with pundits saying right now either candidate could win the state's 29 electoral votes.

Patch wants to hear from Florida readers about their preference for president, vote by mail and how they view the state's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

The informal survey below is meant not to be a scientific poll, but only to give a broad idea of public sentiment; responses to the survey were closed Monday. Results were published on Monday.

SEE: Biden Tops Trump In Patch's FL Presidential Preference Survey

Along with politics, we'd like readers to weigh in on how Gov. Ron DeSantis has handled the virus outbreak, if they think face masks or coverings should be mandated, and if all bars should be allowed to open. Plus, tell us whether you support an amendment to the state's constitution that would set the minimum wage at $15 an hour, and if you want the entire election to be done as vote by mail.

In the past 10 presidential elections, Republican candidates have won Florida seven times and Democratic candidates have won Florida three times. In nine of those 10 elections, the candidate that won Florida ended up winning the presidential election. Only George H.W. Bush failed to win the presidency after winning Florida electoral votes.

NPR says eight states are toss-ups: Pennsylvania (20 electoral votes), Ohio (18), North Carolina (15), Arizona (11), Wisconsin (10), Nevada (6), New Hampshire (4) and Florida. Biden has a lead of 5 points or less in each of these key states.

A Real Clear Politics average of national presidential preference polls taken in June gives Biden 50.6 percent of the vote nationwide to 40.6 percent for the GOP incumbent.

A New York Times poll gave Biden the biggest lead, at 14 points ahead of the president, while an Emerson poll at the beginning of the month showed the presumptive Democratic nominee with a 6-point lead.

The number of coronavirus cases in Florida continued to surge Friday with 8,942 new cases. A Patch review on Thursday revealed 21 Florida counties reported median ages of people testing positive under 40.

Health officials reported 13,987 total hospitalizations in Florida Friday, up from 13,775 over the previous 24-hour period. That represents an increase of 212 new hospitalizations.

The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut imposed a two-week, self-quarantine that took effect Thursday on travelers from Florida and other states experiencing a surge.