early voting

Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley says early voting has many advantages over waiting until Election Day for Floridians to cast their ballots.

Contenders in several local and a regional state race joined the procession.

The various polling places will be open through Aug. 18.

Some voters went with their immediate family members to the polls, and community block parties encouraged hundreds of Panama City residents to cast their ballots early.

There’s been record voter turnout across the states so far in the presidential election. More than 4.7 million ballots have already been cast in Florida with around ten days to go. The current pace is expected to break records for the highest voter turnout in the state’s history. Elections experts have been assuring voters that this won’t be a repeat of the 2000 presidential election which ended with lawsuits and recounts.

As early voting began in Leon County, long lines at polling sites followed. Many of those participating say they decided against voting by mail because of negative news they’d heard.

Nearly 9,000 people have voted at early voting sites in Leon County. It took voters at the Northeast Branch Library Tuesday about 45 minutes to cast their ballot. For some people, it was the first time they’ve stood in a line to vote.

Early voting starts today in Liberty County. The area has more than 4,000 registered voters.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Duval County voter advocates are calling for early voting sites to be placed at the University of North Florida and Edward Waters College. Earlier this year, the League of Women Voters Florida reached a settlement with the state clearing the way for college campuses to be used as voting precincts.

Across Florida, in-person voting began Monday in advance of the August 18th primary election as 28 counties, including Leon, kicked off a two-week period of early voting.