Early voting appears to be catching on, according to a survey of elections supervisors who say that the millions of dollars spent on gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races may be raising turnout across the state.
With next Tuesdays primary bearing down, supervisors reached by the News Service of Florida say early voting numbers are up from 2008, an increase they attribute to high-profile statewide races and some heated local contests.
The Florida Division of Elections officials say 227,817 voters cast ballots by the end of voting Wednesday. The statewide figure does not include absentee ballots, which if history holds true will more than double the early voting totals.
The candidates are energized and voters are more energized, said Jennifer Edwards, supervisor of elections in Collier County, home of Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott. Our numbers are up and I expect more than 30 percent of primary voters to cast ballots early.
Edwards said early voting numbers are up 20.6 percent from 2008. Absentee ballot requests are up more than 52 percent.
Florida officially began early voting in 2004 as part of reforms made in response to problems experienced during the historic 2000 presidential race. In an effort to increase voter participation and avoid Election Day bedlam, lawmakers relaxed absentee ballot requirements and allowed local supervisors to open early voting sites 15 days early.
Floridas early voting period ends this weekend, when supervisors are allowed to keep polls open for a total of eight hours.
With four days left to vote, nearly 20,000 voters had cast ballots early in Miami Dade. That compares to 28,187 who voted early for the 2008 primary. Further, more than 60,000 absentee ballots had been received as the polls closed Wednesday, about 37 percent of the absentee ballots mailed out. In Pinellas County, nearly 66,000 absentee ballots had been returned
In Leon County, elections supervisor Ion Sancho predicts that 35 percent of voters in the primary will have cast ballots early, a modest but noticeable increase over the 2008 primary cycle. A handful of highly contested local races, including a contentious mayoral race, appear to be driving voters to the polls.
Were seeing increased turnout at a substantial clip compared to the last election, Sancho told the News Service. I cant pinpoint if its local races or national races but the local races are definitely catching some local interest.
Touted as a way to increase voter participation, early voting has not proven to be the democratic boom that backers claimed, said Charles Bullock, University of Georgia political scientist who studies voting habits.
It doesnt appear to bring more people to the polls, Bullock said. What it tends to do is give people who have already made up their minds a more convenient way to vote.
Regardless of its ability to bring in more voters, local supervisors say increased use of early- and absentee-voting has made their jobs a little easier at a time when tight budgets are forcing them to reduce election staff and cut back on poll worker training.
It makes it less hectic on Election Day, thats for sure, said Kay Clem, Indian River County supervisor of elections, who has had to make substantial budget cuts over the past few years. It has definitely smoothed out the process.
