Florida woman braves flood with a paddleboard to vote in the midterm election: ‘No one has an excuse not to vote today!’

Rayna O’Nan (@oceanraysphotography), a photographer from Florida, had recent rains flood her driveway. Despite the historic flash floods that reached her neighborhood, O’Nan was still determined to reach her voting precinct and cast her ballot.

“No one has an excuse not to vote today! I literally paddleboarded to make sure I could cast my vote. This flooding in West Palm Beach is getting out of control!” O’Nan told TikTok on November 3. Although she acknowledged that voting would require extra steps because of the flooding, O’Nan still packed a dry bag and took her paddleboard out of the garage. The photographer said she used the paddleboard just a day earlier to explore her neighborhood. She planned to paddleboard to the nearest pickup point in her precinct to vote.

She started her journey through the flooded streets. O’Nan noticed that she could see the bottom of the road through the floodwater, but it was still considerably deep. She commented, “I really don’t want to run into a gator. It’d be kinda cool if it’s small.”

As she paddled through the road, she noticed oil in the water. She also found an abandoned car midway. Another car had its windows down even though it rained all night. Despite the rough ride, O’Nan found her way to the front of the neighborhood, where the road was still clear.

Paddleboarding her way back home

“I’m waiting for a ride to the polling station, which I texted my polling station, and they said they would give me a ride,” O’Nan said. A minivan later picked her up and took her to her precinct. Although she couldn’t film inside, O’Nan showed her voting sticker to show that her mission was a success. It was a turtle sticker with shades and a glass of juice in one hand, chilling at the beach, with the caption, ‘I voted.’ O’Nan said that after voting, they dropped her off in her neighborhood.

After being dropped off, O’Nan considered helping others with her paddleboard. She also said that officials were trying to get people in and out of the precinct. Regardless, she still had to paddleboard her way back home to her flooded street. One challenge she faced was cars getting out, which created big waves she had to brave.

“This is worse than paddleboarding at the f****** intercoastal,” O’Nan commented. Although she had a rougher ride home, O’Nan made it back safely without falling into the dirty water. She encouraged others to exercise their rights and vote despite the inconveniences they might face on the way.

Encouraging others to exercise their rights and vote

“I feel like no one has an excuse not to vote this election day because I really did the most to exercise my right to vote,” she argued. O’Nan believes the flood on her driveway may have been caused by climate change and that her neighborhood was originally built on a swamp. She continued, “So maybe, let’s elect some people who care about our environment.” Aside from the environment, some voters have also rallied behind candidates who have campaigned to lower the cost of living. Citizens have different reasons to vote, and O’Nan is not the only Floridian to brave the murky waters to cast her vote.

Another woman from West Palm Beach said she walked through floodwater and posted a photo of herself standing knee-deep in water as she made her way to her precinct. Others praised O’Nan for still choosing to vote despite the unsafe conditions. But amid the praise, some also joked that O’Nan can finally tell her future children that, to vote, she had to wade through gator water just to cast her ballot. But O’Nan isn’t the only one to take her vote seriously. Even Pope Leo XIV cast his ballot from the Vatican, making him the first Pontiff to vote in a US election.

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