Leon County has only seen about a ten-percent turnout in the presidential primary election so far, says Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley. There are several reasons for the low trend.
First, it’s a Republican primary. The Democrats nominated Joe Biden as their sole candidate and there are no other contests on the ballot in Leon, so only registered Republicans can vote in this one.
“The party that has an incumbent up for re-election never has a primary-nominating process because -- at least in Florida, because -- they have nominated the incumbent, the way Florida statute works," Earley said. "If they submit one name, then they don’t have to have an election. And so, both parties do it. This year it’s the Democrats doing it.”
Second, Earley says, the outcome of the primary is all but certain.
“For many reasons, but frankly, the Florida primary for president is fairly late in the cycle," he said. "And as most people know, there’s only one candidate who has not suspended their campaign, so I think voters in Florida mostly see that as a foregone conclusion.”
Nor have students at Florida State University or Florida A&M University been voting much, although there are voting sites on both campuses. That’s because it’s spring break.
Earley says roughly 25 percent of Leon County voters are Republican, so only about 50,000 voters are even eligible -- and 5,500 have voted so far.
Today (Thursday) is the 6th day of early voting. That ends Sunday, with Election Day on Tuesday the 19th.
