SARASOTA (WSNN) – Saturday marks the first of nine early voting days on the Suncoast, leading up to the August 18th Primary. And Sarasota has some new options.
“I call it the optimal social distancing experience here,” Sarasota County’s Supervisor of Elections, Ron Turner, said.
How about drive-through drop off service for vote-by-mail ballots?
“We’re looking for way to try and be creative in this new COVID environment,” Turner said. “And I know some individuals may need too or are trying to limit their interactions with others and this is one way to do that.
That’s why Sarasota Resident, Sherry Schaefer, returned her vote-by-mail ballot through this new method,” Schaefer said.
“I don’t want to go into the germy voting place with all the people who refuse to wear masks standing around breathing on me.”
Drive-thru is available at the Terrace Building in downtown Sarasota, the R. L. Anderson building in Venice, and at Biscayne Plaza in North Port.
The other early voting two sites include North Sarasota Library and Sarasota Square Mall. All five allow voters to cast a ballot in-person or return a vote-by-mail ballot inside the facility.
Supervisor of Elections, Ron Turner says there are more than 125,000 vote-by-mail requests for this primary.
But, the pandemic isn’t stopping the Peterson family from voting early in-person, a tradition they do every election.
“There’s a certain feeling that you get, or that I get anyway about voting in person; meeting the volunteers and going through the process, handling the ballot, putting it in the machine and knowing that it’s in there,” Glenn Peterson said.
“I thought it was very nice, they had these special pens that were cleaned after we used them, everything seems to be done very carefully and we appreciated that,” Lisa Peterson said.
Turner lists the key races in Sarasota County:
“There’s a state attorney’s race in our district, there are county commission races, hospital board, charter review board, there’s a sheriff’s race,” Turner said.
32-year-old Craig Freifelder says it’s about making your voice heard.
“To make a change for the community and not just for themselves, Freifelder said. “You’re doing something for the society of Sarasota.”
“It doesn’t matter from the most powerful person to the youngest 18-year-old person in our society, we all get one ballot, one paper ballot in Florida, and we get to cast our vote,” Turner said. “So we all have that equal opportunity at the ballot box to make our voice heard.”
Early voting hours are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm through Sunday, August 16.
